Player of the Match
Player of the Match

That is all from us at ESPNcricinfo from this encounter. Thank you for joining us. See you on Sunday for the second T20I.

10.27pm Who is the Player of the Match? Of course it is Shivam Dube. Here he is: "I think it was really cold but I enjoyed playing on this ground. Playing after a long time....batting at No. 4 was a bit of pressure for me but I had one thing on my mind... that I had to play my style of cricket. From my style, I feel a bit of pressure first 2-3 balls but after that I think about the ball and don't think too much. I know I can hit big sixes in T20s, so I know I can get runs anyway. (Rohit chat post game) He said I played really well and that we'll chat to improve my game in upcoming games. (Bowling) Today I got the opportunity and executed what I had to."

10.21pmTime for the presentation.

Ibrahim Zadran, the losing captain: We were short 13-15 runs. We lost the toss too. But the boys fought well. We were trying to have a good powerplay start but we lost wickets then. One of us should've gone for 14-15 overs but we lost back to back wickets. When new batters came, we came under pressure. (Fielding effort) In the second innings there was dew and gripping of the ball was difficult. I can say that the boys tried really well. (Other areas of improvement) We will try to improve our fielding. We were quite lazy with the fielding today. We will try to improve batting as well. Bowling we have no issue. Will focus on what we did wrong today."

Rohit Sharma, the winning captain: It was extremely cold to be honest. Now I am okay. Obviously when the ball hits the tip of the finger it is a little sore. When the ball hit my fingers I couldn't feel my fingers. (Summary) Lot of positives, especially with the ball. Wasn't the easiest of conditions but our spinners bowled particularly well. (Angry after getting out) Honestly these things happen. When it happens you feel frustrated because you want to be out there and score runs for your team. Wanted Gill to carry on. He played a good innings but got out. Lot of positives - Shivam Dube, the way Jitesh batted, Tilak as well and obviously Rinku. (Next game?) Want to try a few things. Want to make the bowlers do a few different things. Like how Washy bowled the 19th today. Keeping those things in mind, we'll try to do different things. But not at the cost of winning."

Rinku: "Enjoying batting at this number. Making it a habit of staying not out. Enjoyed batting in the cold a lot. While fielding the ball was hurting and nobody could see much out there (laughs). I try to talk to myself, and tell myself that anything can happen when I bat at No. 6. In the last IPL, I spoke to Mahi bhai, and he said the more you remain calm the better it is. Try to see what the bowler is doing and react accordingly. If I think too much things can go wrong for me (laughs), so I see what the bowler is doing instead."

10.06pm A fairly comfortable win for India, as was expected since the target of 159 was below-par especially in Mohali.

A few early India wickets did make the game interesting, but in hindsight, that offered a great opportunity for India's thinktank to see what the likes of Tilak, Dube, Jitesh and Rinku could do. Dube finishes unbeaten on 60 to round off a memorable day that also saw him bowl a tidy spell of 2-0-9-1.

The game, though, was set up by the India bowlers. Axar's 2-23 was important since it broke partnerships, and Mukesh's 2-33 helped stop Afghanistan from going big at the death by dismissing Omarzai and Nabi.

For Afghanistan, they'd feel with five wickets in hand left after 20 overs, they simply did not utilise the batting conditions well enough. They missed someone of Rashid's quality after the three early wickets that India lost. Mujeeb, Nabi and Omarzai their most impressive players tonight.

Elsewhere, with the Pro Kabaddi League at the midway point of the season, it's time to hand out grades to each franchise. Which team scored an A+ and could Telugu Titans be anything other than an F? Find out here .

17.3
4
Naveen-ul-Haq to Dube, FOUR, finishes 60 not out and seals India's win! Short ball doesn't trouble Dube. He swats a pull behind square and that is game, set and match. India go 1-0 up.
17.2
6
Naveen-ul-Haq to Dube, SIX, using those long levers! Overpitched ball around off and Dube doesn't have to do much. A simple swing of the bat and that's been lifted over Naveen's head. The ball is lost too.
17.1
1
Naveen-ul-Haq to Singh, 1 run, short pitched delivery around off. Rinku swivels and opens up the leg-side space. Pulls to fine leg

END OF OVER:
17 | 8 Runs | IND: 148/4 (11 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 8.70, RRR: 3.66)

  • Rinku Singh15 (8b)
  • Shivam Dube50 (38b)
  • Azmatullah Omarzai4-0-33-1
  • Naveen-ul-Haq3-0-32-0
16.6
1
Azmatullah Omarzai to Singh, 1 run, overpitched ball just outside off. Driven to cover's right
16.5
1
Azmatullah Omarzai to Dube, 1 run, full ball around leg stump. Flicked off his heel to deep square leg and that is his fifty! Gets there in 38 balls.

Padmaraj : "Think Pant doesnt have a great record inT20s compared to other formats." -- you're right about that.

16.4
0
Azmatullah Omarzai to Dube, no run, full ball around off and angling across. Tries to drive but the ball beats the batter. Past the edge. Replays show Dube had edged that but Afghanistan didn't review
16.3
1
Azmatullah Omarzai to Singh, 1 run, full ball on middle. Tapped to the off side for a single
16.2
4
Azmatullah Omarzai to Singh, FOUR, good length ball around off. Waits for the ball to get to him and then opens the bat's face late to help it along the way to deep third for a boundary. Deft touch

India 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st0RG SharmaShubman Gill
2nd28Shubman GillNT Tilak Varma
3rd44S DubeNT Tilak Varma
4th45S DubeJM Sharma
5th42S DubeRK Singh