When Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi and Rahmanullah Gurbaz snatched two extra byes at the conclusion of the first innings in the first Super Over in Bengaluru, Indian captain Rohit Sharma became enraged.
On the last ball of the over, Nabi attempted to grab a fast bye but was unable to make any contact with Mukesh Kumar’s delivery. Sanju Samson struck Nabi on the back of his leg with an underhanded throw, deflecting the ball in the direction of long on.
As the ball drifted towards Virat Kohli, the two batsmen knew enough to swipe two more runs, which enraged captain Rohit Sharma. The ball deflected off Mohammad Nabi’s legs, so he went at him, asking why the latter ran.
Mohammad Nabi appeared to clarify that, in spite of the detour, he was well within his rights to run. Following a period of contemplation, the players and the skipper of India departed in shock as the on-field umpires signaled a bye and awarded three runs off the last ball.
The first Super Over’s drama may be seen in this video:
Rohit Sharma’s heroics in Super Overs
Rohit Sharma certainly wouldn’t have imagined that he would have needed to bat two more times to help India defeat Afghanistan after smashing 121 runs off only 69 balls.
Rohit blasted two sixes to put his team on the verge of victory in the first Super Over, which they were chasing by 17 runs. When one Super Over did not separate the two sides, he came out to bat once more and hit a boundary and a six in the second.
There were some doubts regarding Rohit’s T20I future after a few ducks in the opening two games. The seasoned opener could not have come at a better moment to put up a match-winning effort.
