India vs Afghanistan T20I series: Dube excels with bat and ball, T20 regulars play their roles as hosts record facile win

On Wednesday evening, Shivam Dube didn’t even pad up at the nets. He spent his two hours bowling in small spells to different batsmen, before taking a few throwdowns from Raghu. It was a clear sign that the Mumbai man was not in contention to play in the first of three T20 Internationals, but an injury to his Yashasvi Jaiswal gave him an opportunity, and the all-rounder grabbed it with both hands.

With his military medium pace, Dube kept the run flow in check and even got the wicket of Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran. He walked out to bat when India had lost both their openers, and the visitors were sensing a route back into the contest. Dube first steadied the ship with Tilak Varma who scored a sedate 26, played the perfect foil to Jitesh Sharma, saw Rinku Singh do his thing from the other end, and reached his second T20I fifty in 38 balls as India coasted to the target of 159 with two and a half overs to spare for a six-wicket win.

Dube’s fortunes changed after he joined Chennai Super Kings, where MS Dhoni’s advice turned his career around. “Mahi Bhai once told me something and those are the most encouraging and motivating words for me. He said, ‘You’re good. Just be fearless,’” Dube had told CSK TV during the last IPL season.

Mohali: India’s Shivam Dube celebrates with teammates the wicket of Afghanistan’s batter Ibrahim Zadran during the first T20I cricket match between India and Afghanistan, in Mohali, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. (PTI Photo/Kamal Kishore)

It would be harsh to compare Dube with Hardik Pandya, because the 30-year-old is not a proper all-rounder. Dube is a batsman who can chip in with a few overs. Yes, he did return with a six-wicket haul against Bihar in the Ranji Trophy recently, but Dube is not someone who can do what a fit Pandya can.

Dube is undoubtedly not the most fluent batsman while fronting up to pacers and his struggles against short-pitched bowling are well documented. Yet, Chennai and Dhoni were able to maximise his potential as he was used to destroy spinners in the middle overs. On Thursday, the left-hander remained unbeaten on 60 off 40 balls and took his team home.

Nightmare return for Rohit

On a cold January evening, in front of a packed PCA Stadium in Mohali, Rohit Sharma’s comeback to India’s T20 team with the bat lasted two balls. The India captain, who was playing his first game for the country in the format in 14 months since the Adelaide loss to England in the 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal, was sold down the river by his opening partner Shubman Gill.

Visibly upset, Rohit gesticulated frantically towards his young teammate before walking back to the hut without troubling the scorers.
It has been a tough couple of days for Rohit, who joined the Indian team late after his flight got delayed due to fog. Then he dropped Azmatullah Omarzai, whose 68-run stand with veteran Mohammad Nabi helped Afghanistan post 158 for 5.

Mohali: India’s batters Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill during the first T20I cricket match between India and Afghanistan, in Mohali, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. (PTI Photo/Kamal Kishore)

With Rohit going back without contributing with the bat, Gill entertained the crowd with his strokeplay and during his knock 12-ball stay at the crease, it looked like the youngster was in a hurry to finish the match. But he failed to convert his start. The credit must be given to Mujeeb Ur Rahman who, after being hit for two boundaries, deceived the Indian opener with a quicker one and this time, Gill got himself stumped.

Gill, who was tipped to bat at No.3, got the chance to open after Jaiswal, who coach Rahul Dravid had called the first-choice opener alongside Rohit, was unavailable due to a sore right groin. With Virat Kohli set to play the next two games, it would be interesting to see where he will bat.

T20I regulars impress

It was a sweet homecoming for Jitesh, who has caught everyone’s attention with his shot-making on this very ground with his IPL franchise Punjab Kings. The wicketkeeper-batter, who out of nowhere has risen to be India’s No.1 gloveman in this format, once again showed why his fearless style of batting is exactly a fit for India in the middle order. Jitesh’s 31-run cameo got India out of a precarious situation.
Jitesh’s dismissal brought Rinku, who received the loudest reception from the crowd, and the left-hander executed his finishing role to perfection.

Earlier, seamers Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar were decent, but it was Axar Patel who again showed why he should be the one playing as the spin all-rounder ahead of Ravindra Jadeja. So far in his career, Axar has been Jadeja’s understudy. Axar might not be as quick in the field as Jadeja, but he is not bad either.

He has improved significantly in the past couple of years as a cricketer. The way he varied his pace to get the wickets of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and debutant Rahmat Shah indicates he is a smart cricketer.

Cold outing for Afghans

The Afghanistan team had arrived three days prior to the match. They had three net sessions, in comparison to India’s one, but looked all at sea in all three departments.

The batsmen, barring veteran Mohammad Nabi, threw away their starts. The bowlers were not up to the mark either, while their fielding was shoddy. They may blame the weather as when they came out to field, the temperature had fallen to seven degrees from 12, when India were bowling. The dew factor also didn’t help as their seamers were taken for plenty.

Afghanistan will have to play out of their skins to compete against India in the next two games of the series.

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