A Wednesday for the ages

Bengaluru: A Rohit Sharma show’. That was supposed to be the highlight at the M Chinnaswamy stadium on a cool Wednesday evening in the city. Until it wasn’t.

The dead rubber of the India-Afghanistan three-match series was brought alive with an edge-of-the-seat thriller by the visitors who put up a fight they will remember for a long time to come.

After India posted a commanding 212 for four in 20 overs, courtesy Rohit’s unbeaten 121, Afghanistan managed to tie the game with a collective batting performance. There was more drama in store as the first Super Over also ended in a tie with both the sides scoring 16 runs each. The encounter entered into a second Super Over when Rohit smashed a six, a four before India put 11 for two. Ravi Bishnoi was given the ball who claimed the wickets of Mohammad Nabi and Rahmanullah Gurbaz to give India a win.

The day until the last-minute drama was all about the Indian skippers’ spectacle of lazy elegance in the hosts’ sweep of the series 3-0.

What made the 36-year-old’s unbeaten knock of 121 in 69 balls all the more special was that it was coming off two consecutive ducks in his previous two outings and in a match that saw the rest of his top-order colleagues withering away.

Caught in a tricky situation with the scoreboard reading 22 for four in 4.3 overs, Rohit found an apt deputy on the pitch in Rinku Singh to keep India’s sails up. The 2023 IPL breakout star scored a 39-ball 69. The duo’s 190-run fifth-wicket partnership became India’s highest stand for any wicket in T20Is.

The Afghans, who were coming in with nothing to lose, put on a valiant effort. First with the ball and then the bat. They did well, in most parts to make India look meek, until they couldn’t. What looked like a distant target, the visitors were suddenly staring at chasing 213 due to Rohit and Rinku's rampage.

Openers Gurbaz and captain Ibrahim Zardan added half-centuries each before Gulbadin Naib’s unbeaten 55 along with Mohammad Nabi’s 16-ball 34 took the game to the Super Over.

Earlier, India won the toss and the cheering crowd had more reasons to get louder when Rohit chose to bat first.

Just as the anticipation of an Indian run fest began running high, the first half-an-hour of play went from the venue being a batting paradise to Indian batters’ nightmare. Atleast for Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson.

Afghan pacers - Fareed Ahmad Malik and Azmatullah Omarzai – were the wreckers of havoc, with the former going for the first kill.

Tempted to go for a big one after a rather quiet 14 balls, Jaiswal’s attempted hit went high in the air but not long enough only to be caught by Nabi at the mid-wicket area. Kohli walked in next. His mistimed pull shot off Fareed Ahmad landed safely in skipper Zardan’s hands at mid-off. This was Kohli’s maiden golden duck in T20Is.

In-form Dube edged an Omarzai outswinger to 'keeper Gurbaz before Samson, replacing Jitesh Shama for the game, headed back to the pavilion shortly after. With their chips down and India reeling at 22 for four at this point is when the Rohit and Rinku rescue act got underway.