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Gurbaz hits ton but Afghanistan 194 all out in rain-hit India ODI / Photo: © AFP
Gurbaz hits ton but Afghanistan 194 all out in rain-hit India ODI
Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit an attacking century but India bowled out the opposition for 194 in a rain-reduced 25-overs-a-side ODI contest on Saturday.
The match started four hours and 15 minutes late due to persistent rain in Dharamsala, and Afghanistan lost three early wickets before Gurbaz hit back in his 102 off 51 balls.
Gurbaz, a wicketkeeper-batter, reached his ninth ODI hundred off 48 balls as he leapt up in the air, kissed the ground and acknowledged the applause from the Afghan dressing room.
He put on 118 runs for the fourth wicket with skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi, who made 27, after Afghanistan slipped to 26-3 in 4.3 overs.
Debutant pace bowler Gurnoor Brar struck in his first over to send back Ibrahim Zadran for one after the batter mistimed a hit to be caught at mid-off.
Left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh then trapped Sediqullah Atal lbw for a duck and in his next over dismissed Rahmat Shah for three.
Gurbaz counter-attacked with a flurry of boundaries and finished with eight fours and eight sixes before being bowled by medium-pace bowler Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Shahidi became another debutant Harsh Dubey's first wicket and the left-arm spinner took two more including one from a stunning catch by skipper Shubman Gill, who flew to take a handed grab at first slip.
Late strikes made India bowl out Afghanistan in 24.5 overs as Gurnoor wrapped up the innings with his third strike.
Veteran batter Rohit Sharma became the oldest Indian men's player at 39 years and 44 days to play an ODI, 37 years after Mohinder Amarnath took field at 39 years and 36 days.
H.King--SFF
