After 2 consecutive defeats, Team India finally got its T20 World Cup 2021 campaign off the mark as they beat Afghanistan by 66 runs on the eve of Diwali.
Virat Kohli once again lost the toss but this time batters were up for the task. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul smashed a half-century each and stitched together a 140-run opening stand. Some power hitting by Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant powered India to 210/2, which is now the highest score of this World T20.
Chasing which, Afghanistan lost half its side with just 69 runs on the board. Ravichandran Ashwin, who returned to T20I cricket after a gap of 4 years struck twice. Counter attack by Mohammad Nabi and Karim Janat took Afghanistan to 144/7 but the total proved too tough for them to chase down.
India need to win remaining 2 games and would also need Afghanistan to beat New Zealand in order to qualify for the semi-finals.
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