India sealed a dominant nine-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the third and final ODI in Chennai on Saturday, completing an emphatic series clean sweep. Yashasvi Jaiswal blazed an unbeaten hundred and forged a 170-run partnership with Rohit Sharma at the top, turning the chase into a one-sided affair. Hunting down a modest 219-run target, India cruised home in just 28.4 overs, surrendering only one wicket. Jaiswal was sensational with an unbeaten 110 off 86 balls (14 fours, 3 sixes), while Rohit anchored his end with a breezy 79 off 69 deliveries. Earlier, Prasidh Krishna had torn through Afghanistan’s top order with four rapid wickets, finishing with stunning figures of 5/23 as the visitors were bundled out for 218 in 44.2 overs. Yet despite Krishna’s ferocious burst, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi held his ground, crafting a courageous maiden ODI hundred to engineer a remarkable recovery from a precarious 36 for 4 in the 10th over. Jaiswal And Prasidh Play Key Roles In ODI Series Victory.
TOSS
Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first.
PLAYING XI
Afghanistan (Playing XI):
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (w), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, Fareed Ahmad Malik
India (Playing XI):
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav
AFGHANISTAN
Conditions offered generous swing and added bounce right from the outset. Edges flew thick and fast as Rahmanullah Gurbaz attempted an ambitious drive off Prasidh and found Rohit’s hands at first slip. Rahmat Shah followed shortly after, a flick off his legs producing a leading edge, and Ibrahim Zadran departed in much the same manner as Gurbaz — all three catches pouched by a sharp Rohit at slip.
Afghanistan managed to score only when bowlers strayed too straight or resorted to the short ball, but Prasidh refused to yield. His opening spell read an extraordinary 5-2-6-4. Darwish Rasooli attempted to muscle him through the off side, but a miscued drive ballooned to Shreyas Iyer, who took a fine running catch from cover.
With Afghanistan reeling at 36 for 4, Azmatullah Omarzai launched the fightback, cracking four boundaries between overs 11 and 14. Shahidi looked uneasy against the short ball initially but managed to pull Prince Yadav for four to settle his nerves.
Reddy and Dubey were introduced as spinners after the 15th over. Boundaries flowed steadily, and Washington’s arrival did little to stem the flow. Dubey was taken off after Shahidi punished him for a four and a six in quick succession. The pair of Shahidi and Omarzai notched up their respective fifties within two overs of each other, with a century stand registered in between.
Prince’s return to the attack tempted Omarzai into a rash hook shot, and he holed out to deep fine leg. A 57-run stand between Shahidi and Mohammad Nabi then steadied the ship. Shahidi had by now conquered his weakness against the bouncer, accumulating five boundaries through pulls and ramps by the 36th over — though not without picking up his second warning for running on the protected pitch area.
Afghanistan’s collapse began when Nabi, waiting for a short ball, was bowled by Gurnoor Brar. Things unravelled further when Shahidi strayed onto the danger zone once more at the end of the 40th over, conceding five penalty runs and losing the strike. Three wickets tumbled in the following seven deliveries.
Rashid Khan holed out to deep cover off Dubey while attempting a big hit. The same over witnessed AM Ghazanfar run out, with Shahidi desperately trying to hoard the strike. Even more baffling was Fareed Ahmad’s run out off the very next ball — Shahidi pushed for a non-existent single on the first delivery of the following over, gifting Gill his second run out in consecutive balls.
With Afghanistan sliding from 203 for 6 to 206 for 9, Shahidi’s century appeared under serious threat. Ziaur Rahman faced five deliveries, but Shahidi managed to face 11 of the next 12 balls, reaching his hundred off 128 deliveries. He eventually fell pulling Prasidh to deep midwicket off a bouncer, closing the innings with 28 balls still remaining.
INDIA
India’s innings began at 5 for no loss after Shahidi’s three violations of the pitch’s protected area resulted in a five-run penalty. The opening over from Omarzai produced 26 runs — three fours, two no-balls, and a wide.
Rohit had a couple of fortunate escapes. In the third over, he top-edged a pull off Fareed that sailed towards the boundary, with Gurbaz unable to collect cleanly and accidentally kicking it over the rope. Then, in the sixth over with Rohit on ten, he cut Ziaur towards deep third only for Fareed to be blinded by the floodlights, letting a straightforward chance slip through his grasp.
Those reprieves aside, Rohit and Jaiswal batted with tremendous freedom. They plundered 11 fours and two sixes in a dominant 81-run powerplay. Jaiswal, a player who has occasionally fallen to the cut shot, did snick one through slip, but was largely commanding as he accumulated freely behind point. He brought up his fifty in the 12th over, with Rohit reaching his in the 16th.
Rohit then went after Rashid to level the gap between the two, striking three fours and a pulled six as India glided past 150 in the 21st over. Nabi served up a long hop shortly after, but this time Rohit’s pull went straight to the fielder at deep midwicket.
Shreyas, pushed up to number three, was in such an attacking mindset that he flung his bat in the 24th over. Jaiswal nearly perished at deep cover in the 26th before surviving the scare.
The sprint to the finish began with Jaiswal and Shreyas plundering 19 off Fareed. Jaiswal opened the final over with a six that brought up his century, then sealed the win with another six and a four. India triumphed by nine wickets with 128 balls to spare.
BRIEF SCORE
India 224/1 (Jaiswal 110*, Rohit 79, Nabi 1-47) beat Afghanistan 218 (Shahidi 102, Omarzai 50, Prasidh 5-23) by nine wickets.
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