In the first ODI played at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala, India defeated Afghanistan by 7 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Actually, due to rain, the match started 4 hours 15 minutes later than the scheduled time and it was reduced to 25-25 overs. Indian captain Shubman Gill won the toss and decided to bowl first. The Afghanistan team made a comeback after the initial setback and scored 194 runs, but the Indian batsmen achieved the target in 22.5 overs.
Actually, Afghanistan had a very bad start and the team had lost three wickets till the score of 26 runs. After this, Rahmanullah Gurbaz along with captain Hashmatullah Shahidi took over the innings. There was a partnership of 116 runs for the fourth wicket between the two batsmen. Gurbaz scored 102 runs in just 51 balls. In his innings he hit 8 fours and 8 sixes. He also scored the fastest century in ODI cricket for Afghanistan by completing his century in 48 balls. However, as soon as he was out, the Indian bowlers made a comeback and restricted the entire team to 194 runs in 24.5 overs.
While chasing the target of 195 runs, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill gave a good start to the Indian team. However, Rohit Sharma was run out after scoring 16 runs. After this, Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan added 70 runs for the second wicket. Ishan Kishan was out after scoring 34 runs, while Shreyas Iyer could score only 12 runs.
Actually, at one time India needed to score runs fast, then KL Rahul batted aggressively. Rahul scored 39 runs in just 19 balls. His innings included 4 fours and 3 sixes. On the other hand, captain Shubman Gill continued batting with responsibility. He played an unbeaten inning of 84 runs in 66 balls, which included 11 fours and 2 sixes.
In this match, two new players of the Indian team also left a great impression. Let us tell you that Gurnoor Brar, who was playing the debut match, gave a strong start to the team by taking the first wicket of Afghanistan. He took 3 wickets in his first international match. Harsh Dubey also bowled brilliantly and took 3 wickets.
