• Home
  • Match Hub
  • Ind Vs Afg Jasprit Bumrahs Masterclass Helps India Restrict Afghanistan To 272

IND vs AFG | Jasprit Bumrah's Masterclass Helps India Restrict Afghanistan To 272

image-lnlqw5h2Jasprit Bumrah picked four wickets vs Afghans (X.com)

The World Cup 2023 is up and running and in the 9th game of the marquee event, the hosts India are up against Afghanistan. The Afghans batted first after their skipper won the toss and have done decently to post 272 on the board, after they lost three early wickets. This is Afghanistan's highest score against India in 50-over World Cups while it is their second highest total overall in the World Cup. Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers for India as he bagged four crucial wickets to restrict Afghans under 300 on a flat batting deck.

Shahidi-Azmatullah Stage Afghanistan Fightback

The pitch at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground looked flat at the toss, but Afghanistan’s top 3 batters failed to convert their starts as the trio of Bumrah-Hardik and Shardul Thakur produced some quality deliveries to put Afghans on the back foot. 

However, Afghanistan surprisingly promoted Azmatullah Shahidi at number 5 and he along with Shahidi, produced a good counter-attacking stand of 181 runs. That partnership set the stage for a big Afghan score and they looked set for a score over 300 with both of them scoring fifties, but Hardik Pandya got rid of Azmatullah in the 35th over, and that brought India back into the game again.


Jasprit Bumrah’s death-bowling masterclass proved too hot to handle

Kuldeep Yadav was the one who got the big wicket of Afghan skipper, Hashmatullah Shahidi in the 43rd over but Afghanistan still had the likes of Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan to follow. So, they would have fancied their chances of getting 300 on the board but Jasprit Bumrah had other plans and showed his full range with flurry of slower deliveries, yorker, bouncers and just did not let Afghanistan batters settle at the death.

Bumrah got the big wicket of Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi in the 45th over which dented Afghanistan badly and then Rashid Khan too was sent back in the 49th over, shattering Afghan hopes further.

India would now back themselves to chase this total but they need a good start against Afghan pacers as the trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Nabi can create problems in the middle overs.