Dharamsala: India defeated Afghanistan by 7 wickets in the rain-affected first ODI of the three-match series at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on Saturday.
The start of the game was delayed by rain and the game was reduced to 25 overs per team, and the toss was pushed back as the outfield remained wet despite the rain stopping.
Chasing 196, India reached the target for the loss of 3 wickets in 22.5 overs thanks to skipper Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 84 off 66 balls with 11 fours and 2 sixes.
Ishan Kishan scored 34 off 22 balls with 3 fours and a six, while KL Rahul played briskly with 39 off 19 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes.
Opener Rohit Sharma scored 16 runs including 2 fours and a six off one ball while Shreyas Iyer added 12 runs.
Ziaur Rahman and Rashid Khan picked up a wicket each for Afghanistan, but the rest of the attack failed to contain the Indian batting line-up.
Earlier, batting first, Afghanistan were bowled out for 194 in 24.5 overs thanks to a superb century from Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who dominated the Indian bowling from the start.
The right-handed opener scored 102 runs off 51 balls with 8 fours and 8 sixes to become one of the fastest ODI centuries against India.
Apart from Gurbaz, Afghanistan’s batting line-up struggled to make a significant impact. Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi scored 27 runs off 30 balls including 3 fours while Asmatullah Umarzai scored 26 runs off 16 balls with 3 sixes.
Among the bowlers, debutants Harsh Dubey and Kurnoor Brar took three wickets each, while Arshdeep Singh and Nitish Kumar Reddy took two wickets each.