India-Afghanistan Match Ends in a Tie, First Ever in the Asia Cup!
It was supposed to be a dead rubber, but India’s final Super Four match against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup was anything but that!
Mohammad Shahzad’s stunning century lit up the first innings as Afghanistan posted 252/8 in their 50 overs.
India then seemed on-track to chase that total, with Ambati Rayudu and KL Rahul stitching a 110-run opening stand. But things changed quickly. The defending champions were eventually nine wickets down, and needed 7 runs off the last over to win.
(Photo: Shruti Mathur/The Quint)
Rashid Khan was to bowl the final over. After a dot ball on the first delivery, Ravindra Jadeja smashed a four on the second ball. He could manage just a single on the third, and that put pressure on young Khaleel Ahmed as India needed two to win and one to tie. However, the 20-year-old survived, took a single and gave Jadeja the strike.
With two balls remaining, India needed just one more run to win.
Jadeja, however, ended up scooping the ball for a regulation catch at mid wicket, cutting short India's joy and sending Afghanistan players into ecstasy.
This was the first-ever tied ODI in the Asia Cup!
As for surprises earlier into the match, MS Dhoni walked out for the toss instead of skipper Rohit Sharma, who had been rested for the match along with Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal. It happened to be the 200th time that the wicketkeeper-batsman – who relinquished his captaincy nearly two years ago – was leading India in ODIs. But that, he said, was “all destiny”.
Before this draw, India had already booked a spot in the final of the tournament after registering wins over Pakistan and Bangladesh in the Super Four stage. Afghanistan, on the other hand, lost all hope of making it through after losing both their matches.
(Photo: Shruti Mathur/The Quint)
Afghanistan’s Innings
Mohammad Shahzad celebrates after scoring a century. (Photo: AP)
Opener Mohammad Shahzad had set up the game for Afghanistan with a whirlwind 124 off 116, the most significant hundred of his career, to take his team to 252 for eight. He hammered 11 fours and as many as seven sixes.
The experienced Mohammad Nabi produced a handy knock, 64 off 56 balls, towards the end, ensuring a competitive total for his team.
While his opening partner Javed Ahmadi was struggling to get even a single, Shahzad thoroughly entertained the crowd with a barrage of big hits. He was ruthless against the Indian bowlers, especially against the rookie Indian pacers Khaleel Ahmed, Siddharth Kaul and debutant Chahar – replacements for the rested players.
Chahar had a forgettable debut even though he picked up a wicket.
Afghanistan would have been in deep trouble if it were not for Shahzad, who was running out of partners at one stage with his team reeling at 82 for four from 65 for no loss after Indian spinners Kuldeep Yadav (2/38) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/46) came into play. The chinaman was even on a hat-trick.
(Photo: Shruti Mathur/The Quint)
Shahzad was then joined by Gulbadin Naib (15 off 46) and the two shared a 50-run stand for the fifth wicket.
After his dismissal, Nabi started plundering the bowlers, hitting four sixes and three boundaries to help the team cross 250.
India’s Innings
Ambati Rayudu (57 off 49) and Lokesh Rahul (60 off 66) shared 110 runs for the opening wicket and at that stage, it seemed India would win it in a canter. However, the openers departed in quick succession, leaving their team at 127 for two in the 21st over.
(Photo: Shruti Mathur/The Quint)
Rahul perished while attempting a reverse sweep off Rashid Khan and ended up wasting a LBW review when he was plumb in front. Dinesh Karthik (44) came in at three and MS Dhoni (8) batted at four. The review that was squandered by Rahul would have been better used for Dhoni and Karthik, who both fell to questionable LBW decisions. The ball was clearly missing the stumps in Dhoni's case.
Karthik's dismissal left India at 205 for six, leaving them to get 46 off 60 balls with Rashid still to bowl three overs.
Jadeja's sensible batting took his side closer to the finish line with 13 needed off 12 balls. The pressure on India was conspicuous, as they suffered two needless run-outs of Kuldeep Yadav and Siddharth Kaul. In the end, a tie was an apt result for the humdinger.
Courtesy: www.thequint.com
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Post poll TN alliances divided in supporting TVK
Chennai (PTI): In a changed political atmosphere in Tamil Nadu with no single political party having a simple majority to form the government post the Assembly election, opinion is divided among the allies led by the Dravidian majors in extending external support to Vijay-led TVK in government formation.
Both the DMK and AIADMK are at unease as the Congress and also a section in the AIADMK express willingness to extend external support to Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagtam in forming the government.
Post poll, the TVK's political prospects appear to impact alliances led by both the Dravidian majors in a different manner, triggering a speculation of a split.
Leema Rose Martin, who won from Lalgudi on an AIADMK ticket, has stated that talks were underway on extending support to the TVK. Her son-in-law Aadhav Arjuna, who won from Villivakkam is TVK's general secretary.
On May 5, former AIADMK minister O S Manian, emerging from his meeting with party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, stated that AIADMK would not support TVK in forming the government.
The AIADMK, which finished third in the elections with 47 seats has cancelled its meeting of MLAs designate on Wednesday amidst a difference in extending external support to the TVK, which won 108 seats, including two seats by its founder Vijay.
As Vijay is gearing up for his swearing-in on May 7, the police have tightened security at his residence here. The party has lodged its MLA-elect at a resort in Mamallapuram and has simultaneously engaged in talks with the Congress and AIADMK, a source said.
The DMK that won 59 seats on its own, has convened a meeting of its newly elected legislators on May 7 evening and the party is likely to elect the youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin, who won from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni as its legislature party leader.
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal admitted that TVK chief Vijay requested the Congress for support to form the government.
"The INC is clear that the mandate in Tamil Nadu is for a secular government, committed to protecting the Constitution in letter and spirit. The INC is determined not to allow the BJP and its proxies to run the government of Tamil Nadu in any manner. Thiru Vijay has also spoken about drawing inspiration from Perunthalaivar Kamaraj," he said.
Accordingly, the Congress leadership has directed the TNCC to take a final decision on Vijay’s request, keeping in view the sentiments of the state as reflected in the electoral verdict, Venugopal said in a statement.
DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai slammed the Congress decision and said the move to ally with TVK, pledging the support of its five MLAs to the party, was tantamount to "backstabbing the DMK and the people of Tamil Nadu."
"They have betrayed the mandate given by the people. Even before the ink on the returning officer’s signature on the victory certificate has dried, they have chosen to go ahead with this alliance," he told PTI.
The most important question was who took this "foolhardy decision, and how is it going to backfire on the Congress?" he asked.
"I don’t think they had any serious deliberation on this. The larger issue is their opposition to the BJP, which is their ideological enemy. We have supported the Congress throughout. It was our leader M K Stalin, who named Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate when the BJP and RSS were criticising him. And now, within a day, they say they are supporting TVK. This is not the mandate of the people of Tamil Nadu,” Saravanan said.
The Congress' exit from its long-standing alliance with the DMK will be a significant moment in the political scenario of the state, commentator and political analyst Sumanth Raman said.
The Congress may be betting on the TVK as a long-term partner option, but that comes with risks, as the TVK is as yet an unknown quantity, he said.
"For the DMK, if the TVK+Congress becomes the choice of the minorities as it well could, it is an existential threat. It was the minority vote that gave the DMK alliance a 12%-15% cushion in the polls. If that goes, their chances of winning drops dramatically," Raman said on 'X.'
The Congress won 5 seats. However, DMK's other allies, the IUML, VCK, CPI and CPI (M) and DMDK have categorically stated that they would not support TVK.
As of now, the TVK requires the support of 11 MLAs to attain a simple majority of 118 to form the government.
The PMK, which won 4 seats and AMMK one - both allies of AIADMK - have not announced their decision yet.
"AIADMK’s real post-result drama may not be outside the party, but inside it. Whispers from the west and north suggest that a Coimbatore hand and a Villupuram voice may soon ask the question everyone is avoiding: Is it time to save the party from the leadership, before the cadre are forced to do it themselves? In politics, coups don’t begin with slogans. They begin with silence, phone calls and “review meetings,” Aspire Swaminathan, who is credited with founding the AIADMK IT wing in 2014, said on 'X.'
He has resigned from the AIADMK in 2021 and now acts an as independent political analyst.
