Asia Cup: India thrash Afghanistan; Virat Kohli slams historic century
India thrashed Afghanistan in their final encounter of Asia Cup 2022 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Although the Men in Blue had been eliminated, the consolation win comes as a booster ahead of the 2022 T20 World Cup. India successfully defended 212, restricting the Afghans to 111/8. Virat Kohli slammed his maiden T20I ton, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar registered his best T20I figures.
How did the match pan out?
India were off to a flier, with KL Rahul and Kohli sharing a century stand. While Rahul departed on a well-made 62, the former Indian skipper completed a historic century. It was his maiden T20I century and first in international cricket since November 2019. India finished on 212/2 (20). In what turned out to be a one-sided affair, Afghanistan succumbed to Indian pacers.
India's second-biggest T20I win (by runs)
India have registered their second-biggest win in T20I cricket (by runs). Afghanistan managed 111/8, giving India a 101-run victory. India's biggest T20I win came against Ireland in 2018. They won that match in Malahide by 143 runs.
Kohli's maiden century in T20I cricket
Kohli was in beast mode versus the Afghans, slamming his maiden century in T20I cricket. The former Indian skipper registered his first international ton since November 2019 (his last century came against Bangladesh in the Kolkata Test). He smashed a 61-ball 122* for India, hammering 12 fours and six sixes. He added a valiant 119-run stand alongside KL Rahul for the opening wicket.
Kohli attains these feats
Kohli is now the 6th Indian to smash a century in T20I cricket. Suresh Raina (1), Rohit (4), KL Rahul (2), Deepak Hooda (1), and Suryakumar Yadav (1) are the other Indians to reach the three-figure mark. Kohli's 122* is the highest individual score by an Indian. He has bettered the 118 by Rohit versus Sri Lanka in Indore, 2017.
Other notable numbers of Kohli
Kohli now has the joint second-most international tons. He has equaled the mark of Ricky Ponting (71). Sachin Tendulkar (782 innings) leads the show with 100 tons. Kohli, who slammed six sixes in the match, has also gotten past 100 maximums in the format. Kohli is now the second-highest T20I scorer (3,584), surpassing the tally of Martin Guptill, who has 3,497 runs.
Rahul slams his 17th T20I half-century
After a string of low scores, KL Rahul finally found form in the ongoing Asia Cup. Rahul, who led India in place of Rohit, slammed his 17th half-century in T20I cricket. It was a first T20I half-century for Rahul, who returned from a long-standing injury. Rahul hammered 62 off 41 balls (6 fours, 2 sixes). He now has 1,963 runs in 61 T20 Internationals.
Third-best T20I figures for India
Bhuvneshwar ran through the Afghanistan batting line-up. The right-arm seamer dismissed Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Karim Janat, and Najibullah Zadran for just nine runs. Bhuvi came back to dismiss Azmatullah Omarzai, having completed his five-wicket haul. Bhuvneshwar now has the third-best bowling figures for India in T20I cricket (5/4). He is only behind Deepak Chahar (6/7 vs BAN) and Yuzvendra Chahal (6/25 vs ENG)).
A forgettable record for Afghanistan
As per Cricbuzz, tonight's match saw the first-ever five-wicket haul against Afghanistan in the shortest format. Interestingly, Afghanistan have conceded a hundred and a five-fer for the first time in a T20I match.
