IND vs AFG 1st T20I HIGHLIGHTS: Axar Patel, Shivam Dube Power India To 6-Wicket Win In Series Opener

IND vs AFG 1st T20I HIGHLIGHTS: India beat Afghanistan by 6 wickets in the T20I Series opener at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

India's Axar Patel celebrates with teammates the wicket of Afghanistan's batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz during the first T20I cricket match between India and Afghanistan, in Mohali, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024

IND vs AFG 1st T20I HIGHLIGHTS: India beat Afghanistan by 6 wickets in the first T20I of the three-match series at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field first in this fixture. It was Axar Patel who was the best performer with the ball in hand for the hosts as he scalped 2 wickets for 23 runs in his 2 overs. In addition, Mukesh Kumar also scalped 2 wickets for 33 runs from his 4 overs as India kept Afghanistan down to 158/5 in their 20 overs.

In the run-chase, it was Shivam Dube who scored an unbeaten 60 off 40 to see India home with 15 balls to spare. India's chase did have a few tensed moments though especially when both the Indian openers Rohit and Shubman Gill fell inside the powerplay. While Rohit departed for a duck in the first over itself, run out after a mix-up with Gill, the latter also fell out stumped to Mujeeb before the fielding restrictions were lifted to put India in a spot of bother.

6⃣,4⃣ and Shivam Dube wraps the chase in style 🙌#TeamIndia win by 6 wickets and take a 1-0 lead in the T20I series 👏👏

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/BkCq71Zm6G#INDvAFG | @IDFCFIRSTBank | @IamShivamDube pic.twitter.com/4giZma4f1u

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 11, 2024

However, Dube was determined and played with a maturity, stitching three quality partnerships. Initially, Dube and Tilkak Varma added 44 off 29 for the third wicket before adding another 45-run stand off 31 balls with Jitesh Sharma for the fourth wicket. The unbeaten stand worth 42 off 22 between Dube and Rinku Singh meant India eventually eased to their target.

The win means India are now 1-0 up in the three-match series. While Yashasvi Jaiswal was not available for India in this match due to a sore groin, Virat Kohli had also made himself unavailable for the first T20I. However, both Kohli and Jaiswal are likely to be available for the second and the third T20I in Indore and Bengaluru respectively. The second IND vs AFG T20I is scheduled to be played on Sunday (January 14).