Brutal Dube, Jaiswal power India to six-wicket win
Indore, Jan 14: Riding on a flurry of mighty maximums, Shivam Dube and Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed Afghanistan's bowlers to smithereens on way to swashbuckling half-centuries as India made short work of a 173-run target to win the second T20I by six wickets here on Sunday.
While Yashasvi got out after hammering 68 off 34 balls, including six sixes, Dube ended unbeaten on a 32-ball 63, hitting four maximums in the process.
India completed the chase with 26 balls to spare, taking an unassailable lead in the three-match series.
Gulbadin Naib top-scored with a breezy 35-ball 57 before the lower-order batters Mujeeb Ur Rahman (21 off 9 balls) and Karim Janat (20 off 10) chipped in with useful contributions to lift Afghanistan to 172 all out.
India's chase began on a eventful note that saw a first-ball boundary by Yashasvi Jaiswal, a loud shout for an lbw and an unsuccessful Afghanistan review, and a first-ball duck for Rohit Sharma.
In his first T20I since November 2022, Virat Kohli began with a lovely boundary before Jaiswal smashed Fazalhaq Farooqi for two sixes.
Recreating the famous shot he played against Haris Rauf in the last T20 World Cup at MCG, Kohli hit a short-of-a-length Naveen-ul-Haq delivery back over the bowler's head for a four. On that night in Australia though, it was a six.
Having switched ends, Mujeeb leaked 19 runs with Jaiswal collecting three fours and Kohli one.
However, Naveen-ul-Haq cut short Kohli highly promising stay at the crease by having the maestro caught at mid-off for a 16-ball 29.
Unperturbed by the Kohli's dismissal, the duo of Jaiswal and Dube went about their task in a brutal manner, leaving the Afghan bowlers bruised and battered.
Asked to bat first, Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz signalled his intent straightaway and flicked Arshdeep Singh (3/32 in 4 overs) for a four through square leg and then tried to hit one straight down the ground, which however did not result in a boundary.
While Arshdeep started the proceedings with two wides on either side of the wicket, Mukesh Kumar was welcomed with a six over the bowler's head by Gurbaz, before his opening partner Ibrahim Zadran, having got a review for lbw in his favour, got into the act by lofting one over cover for a boundary.
Trailing 0-1 in the three-match series, Afghanistan raced to 20 for no loss in no time, forcing Rohit Sharma to introduce spin in the form of Ravi Bishnoi (2/39 in 4 overs).
Leg-spinner Bishnoi, who has a penchant for picking a wicket in his first over, did an encore as he lured Gurbaz to offer a catch to Shivam Dube at mid-on, having failed to get elevation.
Taking a cue from Gurbaz's approach, one-down batter Gulbadin Naib started to play his shots from the get-go, pulling Mukesh through mid-wicket and then driving him through for successive fours.
Fresh from a wicket in his very first over, Bishnoi found himself at the receiving end of Gulbadin's onslaught as the batter pulled a short ball over deep mid-wicket for a maximum before hitting back-to-back fours in an 18-run over at the Holkar Stadium.
There was another bowling change and it paid dividends as left-arm spinner Axar Patel bowled visiting captain Ibrahim Zadran with a beautiful flighted delivery that turned just enough to beat the batter and hit the stumps.
Azmatullah Omarzai did not last long as Dube hit the stumps after the batter went for a cross-batted pull shot and missed.
Axar bowled an economical eighth over before Gulbadin carted a Dube slower ball into the stands over deep mid-wicket and followed that by launching a half tracker towards the long-on region for another maximum.
Promoted to number three, Gulbadin brought up his fifty in 28 balls. There was no respite for Washington Sundar either, as Gulbadin swept the off-spinner for a big six over deep mid-wicket.
India's best bowler on the day by some distance, Axar (2/17 in 4 overs) provided the crucial breakthrough when he had Gulbadin caught at mid-wicket by Rohit, having bowled one slightly slower than his usual deliveries.
Afghanistan's innings lost momentum after Gulbadin's departure even as Bishnoi dismissed Mohammad Nabi.
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Hemant Soren to take oath as 14th CM of Jharkhand on Thursday
Ranchi (PTI): Hemant Soren is set to take oath as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand in a grand ceremony here on Thursday, which will be attended by several top political leaders, including AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Soren at 4 pm.
This will be the 49-year-old JMM leader's fourth stint as chief minister.
Soren retained the Barhait seat, defeating BJP's Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes in the recent assembly polls. The JMM-led alliance stormed to victory, securing 56 seats in the 81-member assembly, while the BJP-led NDA managed 24 seats.
Posters for the event can be seen across the city, while security has been strengthened and traffic regulations put in place.
Schools in Ranchi city are shut on Thursday in view of the swearing in of the Hemant Soren government.
Jharkhand in-charge and Congress general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir said Soren is likely to take oath alone, and expansion of the cabinet will be held after a vote of confidence in the assembly.
Other senior political leaders likely to be in attendance are NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, a JMM leader said.
CPI(ML)L general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti and Bihar’s Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav are also likely to attend the oath-taking ceremony.
"It’s heartening to have such esteemed leaders join us for this important occasion," said Soren, who along with senior officials paid a visit to the Morabadi ground on Wednesday evening to take stock of the arrangements.
