Shubman Gill Guides India to Win Over Afghanistan in 1st ODI

Dharamshala: The crowd at the HPCA Stadium may have come expecting a full 50-over contest, but they were treated to an entertaining 25-over chase in a match truncated due to rain, as skipper Shubman Gill hit 84 not out to help India beat Afghanistan by seven wickets in the ODI series opener on Saturday.

After debutants Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey claimed three wickets apiece as India bowled out Afghanistan for 194, despite a blistering 102 coming from Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s willow, Gill put a knock of absolute authority and was at his sublime best to hit 11 fours and 2 sixes in his 66-ball knock, taking India home with 13 balls to spare.

India needed a solid start, and skipper Rohit Sharma provided it before a mix-up cut short his innings. Shubman Gill carried on fluently, striking boundaries to keep the tempo high. He was joined by Ishan Kishan, who sparkled on his return to ODIs with a 22-ball 34, while peppering the field with aggressive strokes.

KL Rahul then took charge in the middle overs, ensuring there was no let-up. The right-hander remained unbeaten on a 19-ball 39, laced with four boundaries and three sixes to guide India home with ease, as they never looked under pressure in the chase.

Earlier, debutants Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey claimed three wickets apiece as India bowled out Afghanistan for 194, despite a blistering century coming from Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s willow.

Gurbaz had luck on his side -- India didn't review an lbw appeal when he was on 14, and he made them pay. After taking time to get going and understanding the pitch, he launched into the Indian back-up bowlers with some outrageous clean hitting in a 25-overs-a-side contest.

In an outstanding knock studded with eight fours and as many sixes, Gurbaz brought up his hundred off 48 balls, the fastest by an Afghan batter in the 50-over format and the second fastest by any batter against India in ODIs.

At one point, Afghanistan looked set to get beyond 220, but Gurbaz's dismissal helped India claw back. Barring Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai making 20s, none of the other batters got past single digits. For India, Gurnoor and Harsh maintained their composure and bowling smarts to pick three-fors while Arshdeep Singh and Nitish Kumar Reddy chipped in with two scalps each.

Brief scores: Afghanistan 194 all out in 24.5 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 102, Hashmatullah Shahidi 27; Gurnoor Brar 3-27, Harsh Dubey 3-47) lost to India 195/3 in 22.5 overs (Shubman Gill 84 not out, KL Rahul 39 not out; Rashid Khan 1-37, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi 1-39). IANS

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