Picture : ICC/Twitter
It was a thrilling encounter at the end of a match that of not much consequence. India had already booked their place in the finals and await the winner of the Bangladesh against Pakistan to clash in the final.
India went in the dead rubber against Afghanistan with Mahendra Singh Dhoni leading the side . It was MSD’s 200th ODI match as skipper.
As India decided to rest skipper Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Khaleel Ahmed, Siddharth Kaul and debutant Deepak Chahar took the field
Afghanistan posted an impressive 252 for 8 in their 50 overs. Opener Mohammad Shahzad had set up the game for Afghanistan with a whirlwind 124 off 116. Another notable contributor was experienced Mohammad Nabi who produced a handy knock, 64 off 56 balls,
Chasing 253, India were on course with the openers Ambati Rayudu (57 off 49) and Lokesh Rahul (60 off 66) sharing a fine 110 runs stand . But soon the innings feel apart Mahendra Singh Dhoni ( 8) Dinesh Karthik ( 44).
However, Karthik’s dismissal left India at 205 for six, leaving them to get 46 off 60 balls with Rashid still to bowl three overs.
Needing seven off the final over, India had the match almost in the bag when Ravindra Jadeja (25 off 34) hit a four on the second ball. A couple of singles followed with India needing a run off two balls for a win.
Instead of looking for a single, Jadeja went for the big hit and ended up scooping the ball for a regulation catch at midwicket. Rashid Khan was the hero and helped Afghanistan clinch a thrilling tie.
