Arshdeep Singh starred with the ball as India restricted Afghanistan to 156/8 in the first T20IWatch his impressive bowling performance.
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Arshdeep Singh celebrates after brilliant bowling performance against Afghanistan(Photo: IANS)
Arshdeep Singh produced a strong spell with the new ball as India’s bowlers kept Afghanistan under pressure in the first T20I in Delhi on SundayAfghanistan were reduced to 156/8 in 20 overs after India made a quick start with the ball.
Arshdeep finished with impressive figures of 3/19, while Jasprit Bumrah also made an early impact on his return to the playing XIThe left-arm pacer played a key role in stopping Afghanistan from building momentum during the middle overs.
Bumrah returned to India’s T20I side after missing the team’s recent assignments because of a left-knee injuryHe wasted little time in making his presence felt.
The experienced pacer struck in the very first over, dismissing Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a duckHis early wicket put Afghanistan on the back foot and gave India the start they wanted with the ball.
Arshdeep then added to Afghanistan’s problems by removing Sediqullah Atal, who made 13India’s bowlers continued to attack and did not allow the Afghan batters to settle.
Afghanistan slump to 43/5
The pressure created by the Indian pace attack was soon followed by the spinnersAxar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy joined the action and picked up a wicket each.
Afghanistan were in serious trouble at 43/5 in the seventh overAt that stage, India appeared to be on course to restrict their opponents to a much lower total.
Arshdeep’s spell was particularly important as he kept the batters from finding easy runsHis three wickets helped India maintain control during Afghanistan’s difficult phase.
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Azmatullah Omarzai leads Afghanistan’s fightback
Just when Afghanistan looked set for a low score, Azmatullah Omarzai changed the flow of the inningsThe all-rounder played an attacking knock and stayed unbeaten on 64 off 44 balls.
Omarzai found support from Mohammad Nabi, who contributed 33 runsTheir partnership helped Afghanistan recover from the early collapse and gave the visitors a total they could defend.
Afghanistan eventually reached 156/8 after 20 oversWhile the total was boosted by Omarzai’s late counter-attack, India’s bowlers had largely controlled the innings for most of the night.
