A visibly disappointed Rohit Sharma gesticulated at Shubman Gill as he walked towards the dressing room after being run out.
Chasing a challenging 159 against Afghanistan in biting cold conditions at the IS Bindra-Punjab Cricket Association Stadium on Thursday, a complete misunderstanding between Gill and Rohit saw the Indian captain losing his wicket.
As the Afghans celebrated the early breakthrough, anxious moments ensued for the Indian camp. However, as the evening progressed, Shivam Dube took control of the game, brought up his second T20I fifty (60 not out, 40b, 5x4, 2x6) and eventually guided India to a six-wicket win in the first T20I.
While Rinku Singh came up with an unbeaten 9-ball 16-run cameo towards the end, it was the 45-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Dube and Jitesh Sharma (31, 20b, 5x4) that paved the way for India’s victory.
As the temperature dipped to eight degrees, Dube - featuring in a T20I after three months - kept his cool and built three crucial partnerships - including a 44 run-stand with Tilak Varma - to guide the team out of the woods.
Coming in at a time when India lost openers Rohit and Gill early, Dube took his time to settle in, before hitting a few big shots off pacers Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq. What stood out in his innings was that he allowed his partners Tilak and Jitesh, who was preferred over Sanju Samson, to play their shots, while he played the role of a sheet anchor.
Against a formidable Afghanistan bowling line-up, his approach worked as he could handle the situations well and seemed to be in no mood to rush en route to his fifty.
Inserted in its first-ever white-ball bilateral fixture against India, Afghanistan openers Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz forged a 50-run partnership, but it came at a slow pace, which affected the team’s momentum.
With 100-odd Afghanistan fans cheering for the touring side, a fiery knock was the need of the hour, but none of the batters could come up with a destructive innings. With both Zadran and Gurbaz perishing in a span of three deliveries, Afghanistan was precariously placed at 57 for three at the end of the 10th over.
Things would have gone haywire had Mohammad Nabi not joined Azmatullah Omarzai to provide some impetus to the innings, with a 68-run stand.
The duo went after leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who conceded 35 runs in three overs at an economy rate of 11.66.
However, just when Afghanistan dreamed of a big total, the partnership was broken in the 18th over by Mukesh Kumar, who dismissed both the set batters in a span of five deliveries.
Though Najibullah Zadran and Karim Janat hammered five boundaries in the last two overs to take the Afghans’ closer to the 160-run mark, Dube stood firm on a good batting surface and ensured there was no upset.
With dew playing a factor, India hunted down the tricky target and paid a fitting tribute to its head coach Rahul Dravid, who turned 51 on Thursday. With a 1-0 lead, the team now travels to Indore with hopes of pocketing the series.
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