In the match five of the super four round of the Asia Cup 2022, India defeated Afghanistan by 101 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, UAE.
Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi asked India to bat first. The decision turned out wrong as India posted a mammoth total on the board. Indian captain, KL Rahul (62) opened the batting with Virat Kohli (122*) and possibly turned out to be the best decision for Rohit Sharma to sit out and enjoy watching the duo bat. Both the openers laid the foundation and smashed 119 runs together for the first wicket partnership. King Kohli hammered a century after almost two years and nine months. Fans were eager to see the former Indian captain scoring his 71st ton and with the form, he was in, it was nowhere far. Kohli hit 12 fours and six sixes at the strike rate of 200 which helped India to reach 212/2 in 20 overs.
While chasing, both the opening duo got out on duck. Only Ibrahim Zadran (64) smashed a fifty which helped them get to a respectable score. Along with him, only Rashid Khan (15) and Mujeeb Ur Rehman (18) scored in double digits.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar scalped a fifer tonight but another thing who impressed the most was the number of runs he gave. In his quota of four overs, Bhuvneshwar only gave four runs away. Ravichandran Ashwin, Deepak Hooda and Arshdeep Singh also took one wicket each
On the other hand, for Afghanistan, only Fareed Ahmed plucked two wickets.
Virat Kohli was awarded with the Man of the Match award for his unbeaten century. With this win, India bow out from the Asia Cup 2022 with huge pride.
Scorecard:
India: 212/2, Overs 20, Virat Kohli 122*, Fareed Ahmed 2/57
Afghanistan: 111/8, Overs 20, Ibrahim Zadran 64, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 5/4