"Janat said this is Jahannam" - Aakash Chopra on Karim Janat's last over thrashing by Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh in 3rd T20I vs India
Aakash Chopra has light-heartedly said that Karim Janat might have felt like he was in 'Jahannam' (hell) after he was hammered for 36 runs in the final over of India's innings in the third T20I against Afghanistan.
Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh smoked five sixes and a four between them in the last over as the Men in Blue set Ibrahim Zadran and company a 213-run target in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Although the visitors also scored 212 runs in the main game, the hosts eventually won the match in the second Super Over.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra reflected on India's batting in the main game. He lauded Rohit and Rinku for bailing their side out of a precarious situation, including their assault on Janat, elaborating:
"22/4 means Fareed had blown us away. Two first-ball ducks - Virat Kohli and Sanju Samson, Yashasvi (Jaiswal) scored four runs, Shivam Dube got out for one, and India were stuck. The match went differently from there."
"Rohit Sharma scored a century, the fifth of his career and his highest individual score. Rinku Singh also scored an unbeaten 69. 36 runs were scored in Karim Janat's final over. Five sixes - Janat said this is Jahannam as he was hit so much, so what else was left?" the former India opener added.
Rohit smashed an unbeaten 121 off 69 deliveries with the help of 11 fours and eight sixes. Rinku struck two fours and six maximums in his unbeaten 39-ball 69.
"The shot-making was extremely ordinary" - Aakash Chopra
![Virat Kohli was dismissed for a golden duck. [P/C: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/01/8e4d7-17055506375415-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra criticized the Indian batters' shot selection which led to their dismissals, saying:
"Another thing worth remembering is that it was a slightly slowish pitch. It was a dry pitch and four of our players got out in the powerplay. The shot-making was extremely ordinary."
The cricketer-turned-commentator also questioned Afghanistan for making a plethora of personnel changes for the final T20I.
"The opposing team made a lot of changes (to their playing XI). I was thinking why they did that. It wasn't right for Afghanistan to make so many changes after either winning or losing the series," Chopra stated.
Chopra reckons the supposedly weakened bowling attack might have cost the visitors the game.
"They changed the entire bowling lineup. Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad and Mujeeb Ur Rahman were all not there. Why? If India had been 22/4 with these bowlers, they wouldn't have probably allowed them to score 212 runs," he reasoned.
Fareed Ahmad dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, and Sanju Samson, with Azmatullah Omarzai getting rid of Shivam Dube to reduce India to 22/4. However, Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh's unbroken 190-run fifth-wicket partnership helped the hosts post a mammoth total.