After missing the first T20I against Afghanistan in Mohali, Yashasvi Jaiswal made the most of the opportunity in the 2nd by hitting a 34-ball 68 in Indore. All-rounder Shivam Dube took off from where he left in Mohali and joined forces with Jaiswal to script a series win for Team India. The target of 173 didn't prove to be even nearly competitive for a power-packed line-up.
With the toss falling in favour of Rohit Sharma again, he sent Afghanistan into bat. Afghanistan openers started more briskly on this occasion and were 50 before the powerplay. However, the Indian spinners led by the frugal Axar Patel pulled them back. 60-2 in the 7th over soon became 60-3 as Shivam Dube also struck with his first over, similar to Ravi Bishnoi and Axar.
At the other end, Gulbadin Naib kept the boundaries coming and made Afghanistan's first half-century of the series off 28 deliveries. Axar did the trick again, striking at the right time to remove Gulbadin for 57. It required cameos and some lusty blows from the likes of Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman to get the visitors to a competitive 172.
Rohit Sharma falls for a golden duck in the first over of the innings:
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Indian captain Rohit Sharma, who was run-out in Mohali in the opening over, suffered a dismissal at the same stage. On this occasion, the right-hander looked to be aggressive from the word go and missed it completely as the ball hit the top of off.
However, Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal set on a mission as the pair added 57 in no time. Right-arm pacer Naveen-ul-Haq got Kohli for an enterprising 29 as the former Indian captain failed to time the chip shot and holed it to mid-off at the stroke of powerplay. But it was at this stage that India were going to be unstoppable.
The 9th over saw Dube switch gears, slamming Mohammad Nabi for 3 consecutive sixes and the game had effectively been killed when Jaiswal fell 4 overs later. Jitesh Singh also perished for a duck, but Dube and Rinku Singh once again completed the formalities.
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