On Thursday, January 11, Team India achieved a sound win against Afghanistan in challenging Mohali conditions. This victory positioned the hosts with a 1-0 advantage in the three-game showdown.
Despite finishing with 15 balls left, India’s game wasn’t perfect. They have room for improvements, pressing to cross off all the pending areas. The clock is ticking, with only two more T20Is for the Men in Blue before the 2024 T20 World Cup.
In the opening Twenty20 International against Afghanistan, Team India committed the following two errors and one brilliant move.
1. Mistake – India didn’t play out Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Without a doubt, Afghanistan’s greatest ball-carrying menace was Mujeeb Ur Rahman. The visitors did not field Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, or Qais Ahmad, and their fast bowlers did not have much success.
Though India had the other bowlers to target Mujeeb, they weren’t as careful. After hitting two boundaries off the spinner, Shubman Gill tried a crazy hoick across the line but was stumped. While India was coasting towards the mark in the spinner’s final over, Jitesh Sharma slogged one to long-on.
Dube’s example is one that Gill and Jitesh may have utilized. Knowing that the asking rate was not putting any strain on him, the towering southpaw played out a maiden on the final over of the powerplay before profiting from it.
2. Masterstroke – India’s success with Shivam Dube in his preferred role
In light of Virat Kohli’s personal absence from the opening Twenty20 International, India had some selections to make about their starting lineup. One possibility they had was Sanju Samson, who scored his first international century in South Africa not too long ago.
However, the team management decided to go with Shivam Dube as a two-pacer combination. They achieved this in spite of having a batting lineup that was mostly dominated by lefties, which made sense given that Dube is among the finest off-spin players in the nation.
The action was profitable. Dube batted at number four, which gave him time to set himself up before attacking against pace and enough time to take on spin. The 30-year-old hit the ball cleanly while maintaining motion on the scoreboard. Compared to the last season, where he was incorrectly deployed as a finisher, it was a pleasant change.
3. Mistake – India not using Ravi Bishnoi earlier
With just two fast bowlers available, India wanted to get the overs from its finger-spinners out of the way quickly. But by holding off on introducing Ravi Bishnoi until after half the inning, they overreached themselves with the strategy.
The two established Afghan batsmen immediately challenged the leg-spinner as he was bowling, thumping everything in their arc over the ropes. Bishnoi floated some up and pulled the odd ball short, which made problems worse due to his inaccurate placement. India wasted the opportunity to capitalize on the early pressure they had created when he was taken for 35 runs in three overs.
In the first half, Bishnoi ought to have bowled at least one or two overs rather than being kept off the field.
