India triumphed over Afghanistan by 47 runs in their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Super Eights match at Bridgetown, Barbados, on Thursday.
Winning the toss, India chose to bat first, marking their Caribbean debut in the tournament. The Men in Blue amassed 181/8 in 20 overs, thanks to Suryakumar Yadav’s brisk 53 off 28 balls and Hardik Pandya’s quickfire 32 off 24.
Afghanistan’s innings began with early setbacks, from which they couldn’t recover. Jasprit Bumrah established an aggressive start for Team India, and the spinners maintained the momentum, ensuring consistent pressure. Despite a challenging start during their batting, Rohit Sharma’s team delivered a decisive performance.
Bumrah stood out as Team India’s leading bowler, claiming two early wickets and later returning to dismiss Najibullah Zadran. Without Mohammed Siraj, India’s bowling attack, including Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel, contributed significantly to the victory. Arshdeep Singh rebounded from an initial struggle to claim three wickets, as India’s bowlers dominated the latter half of the game, dismissing Afghanistan for 134.
Rashid Khan and Fazalhaq Farooqi each took three wickets for Afghanistan, conceding 26 and 33 runs, respectively, but it wasn’t enough to secure a win.
India next face Bangladesh in Antigua on Saturday (8 PM IST).
