India secured a convincing 47-run victory over Afghanistan in their ICC T20 World Cup Super Eights clash on Thursday, thanks to an explosive half-century by Suryakumar Yadav and top-class bowling spells from Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh.
During the match at Barbados, a playful exchange took place between Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan and Indian middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav. After Suryakumar skillfully executed a couple of sweeps to neutralize Rashid, the friendly banter added a light-hearted moment to the intense game.
Entering the crease at a critical juncture, Suryakumar struck a four and a six off Rashid in the 11th over, compelling the Afghan captain to rethink his strategy. The interaction between the two players appeared to take place immediately following that eventful over. Commentator Ravi Shastri humorously suggested Rashid's comment to Suryakumar might have been, "Stop sweeping me," to which Suryakumar seemingly replied, "It's not my fault!"
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Suryakumar Yadav produced an exemplary knock under pressure, scoring 53 off just 28 deliveries to steer India to a strong score of 181/8 in 20 overs. He received support from Hardik Pandya, who contributed 32 runs.
In response, Afghanistan started their chase well, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz hitting Arshdeep Singh for a four and a six in the first over. However, Bumrah soon dismissed Gurbaz for 11, followed by Axar Patel removing Ibrahim Zadran and Bumrah taking the wicket of Hazratullah Zazai. At the end of the powerplay, Afghanistan was 35/3.
Indian spinners then tightened their grip, with Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja picking up crucial wickets. Afghanistan struggled to build partnerships, and their innings ended at 124 all out. Bumrah (3/7) and Arshdeep (3/36) were the standout bowlers for India.
India now looks to their upcoming matches against Bangladesh on June 22 and Australia on June 24 to secure a berth in the semifinals.
Brief Scores:
- India: 181/8 (Suryakumar Yadav 53, Hardik Pandya 32, Rashid Khan 3/26)
- Afghanistan: 124 (Azmatullah Omarzai 26, Najibullah Zadran 19, Jasprit Bumrah 3/7)