Even without five of the first team members – skipper Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar – and captain Virat Kohli, India are a formidable side in limited overs cricket. Led by stand-in captain MS Dhoni in his 200th ODI as captain, the title favourites were supposed to cruise against Afghanistan in a dead rubber match at the Asia Cup.
But the newest Test team in world cricket had no plans to make it easy, even if they were already out of final contention. The stockily-built Mohammad Shahzad knocked a brilliant hundred as spirited Afghanistan pulled off a last over tie against India in the Super Four match in Dubai on Tuesday.
Shahzad’s 124 laid the foundation of Afghanistan’s fighting total of 252/8 in 50 overs before bowling out India in 49.5 overs for the same total at Dubai stadium.
Needing seven to win off the final Rashid Khan over, Ravindra Jadeja hit a boundary off the second ball before taking a single off the next. Last man Khaleel Ahmed then took a single but Jadeja holed out off the fifth to give Afghanistan a morale-boosting tie with the defending champions.
This win resonated all through the cricket community for what it represented: Balance in the usually top-heavy game. Even though they restricted a second-string India, the quality of cricket from a team that were minnows not too long ago drew praise from all quarters. Not to mention the fact that a dead rubber suddenly became the most competitive game for India this Asia Cup.
Here’s a look at what Twitter had to say about the exciting match:
Give Afghanistan a catch
A little humour of course
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