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INDIA v/s AFGHANISTAN

After winning the toss, MS Dhoni surprised everyone by opting to field as he wanted to give the maximum utilization of the pitch to his bowlers. He was bang on, as the Afghan side was in trouble early, with twin strikes from Nehra as Afghanistan managed just 29/3 in their Quick-Start overs. A 68-run stand from opener Noor Ali(50) and Asghar Stanikzai(30) added stability to the team total but just as the couple looked set to take their team to a strong score in the Extreme Performance Overs, the Indian pacers got the breakthrough with the wicket of Ali which led to a collapse as Afghanistan ended up on 115/8, scoring 36/5 in those 6 overs. Ashish Nehra was the star with three wickets.

In reply, India did not have the best of starts, losing Gambhir early followed by Raina but Murali Vijay, drafted in for Virender Sehwag along with out-of-form Yuvraj Singh put to rest any doubts lingering in the mind about an upset as India raced to 47/2 in the Quick-Start overs. The pair added 55 for the third wicket as the team’s Castrol Index curve steered well away from their opposition enabling a comprehensive win. Vijay fell just two short of a well-deserving half-century as Dhoni came out and completed the formalities of a 7-wicket win. The Afghans bowled and fielded well, but the target of 116 was not quite enough for the Indian team.

Ashish Nehra was awarded the Man-Of-The-Match for his three wickets for 19 runs in his four overs finishing with a Bowling Efficiency of 189




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