An attacking hundred from Rahmanullah Gurbaz powered Afghanistan to 194 in the 1st ODI against India. The match was a 25-over contest where Indian debutants Harsh Dubey and Gurnoor Brar shared six wickets.
An attacking hundred from Rahmanullah Gurbaz and decent contributions from Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai powered Afghanistan to 194 in the 1st ODI against India on Saturday at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.
Gurbaz’s fiery ton counters debutants’ charge
The match was a 25-overs-a-side contest, with each team allowed a maximum of five bowlers, who can bowl up to five overs each after rain halted the fixture for more than 4 hours. India handed debuts to Harsh Dubey and Gurnoor Brar, and the duo made an immediate impact, sharing six wickets between them with three scalps each.
Asked to bat first, Afghanistan were off to a shaky start as openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran walked out to the middle. Debutant Gurnoor Brar struck early for India, dismissing Ibrahim for just one run and bringing Sediqullah Atal to the crease.
India tightened their grip soon after, with Arshdeep Singh removing Atal for a duck to leave Afghanistan in early trouble.
Rahmat Shah then joined Gurbaz in the middle, but the wicketkeeper-batter continued to counterattack, playing his shots freely and keeping the scoreboard moving despite the early setbacks.
Arshdeep Singh, in his following over, struck again, removing Shah for 3, bringing skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi to the crease.
From then on, the duo stitched a vital partnership to take Afghanistan out of trouble.
By the end of 10 overs, Afghanistan had recovered to 79/3, courtesy largely of an innings from Gurbaz, who brought up a well-crafted half-century.
After reaching his fifty, Gurbaz shifted into an even higher gear, taking the attack to the Indian bowlers with a series of aggressive strokes. The opener found boundaries regularly and dispatched loose balls, keeping the scoreboard ticking at a brisk rate and putting India under pressure.
In the 15th over, Gurbaz brought up his 9th ODI hundred, after pushing the ball for a couple of runs off Brar.
In the very next over, Nitish Reddy struck and cleaned up Gurbaz for 102 off 51 balls, laced with eight fours and sixes each, bringing Azmatullah Omarzai to the crease.
The duo of Gurbaz and Shahidi added 116 runs off 66 balls for the fourth wicket. 116 in 11 overs, the partnership run-rate of 10.54 is now the second best for any century stand for Afghanistan in ODIs, only behind 12.1 (111 in 9.1 overs) between Ibrahim Zadran and Mohammad Nabi against England during the Champions Trophy last year.
This is also the seventh hundred for Gurbaz as a designated wicketkeeper; only Quinton de Kock got more (13) before turning 25.
India’s bowlers wrap up the innings
Another debutant, Harsh Dubey, struck in the 17th over, removing Afghanistan skipper Shahidi for 27, bringing veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi to the crease.
As the visitors were stitching another vital partnership, Reddy struck again, removing Nabi for 9 after being clubbed for a massive six, bringing Rashid Khan to the crease.
In the very next over, Dubey struck twice to deliver a double blow, removing Azmatullah Omarzai for 26 and AM Ghazanfar for a duck, and bringing Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi to the crease.
In the final over of the innings, Brar returned to wrap things up in style. The debutant picked up his second wicket of the match by dismissing Rashid Khan for 9, before striking two balls again later to remove Sharifi for 4, bundling Afghanistan out for 194.
India will require 195 runs in their 25 overs to seal the match and take a 1-0 lead in the three ODI series.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)