Asia Cup, India vs Afghanistan Highlights: Virat Kohli’s first international ton in nearly 3 years lights up dead-rubber win over Afghanistan

08.09.2022 - 20:51 timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Virat Kohli has got an international hundred on Thursday night. The wait for his 71st international hundred ended when he disdainfully smacked Afghanistan’s Fareed Ahmad over the mid-wicket boundary to bring up his first T20I century off just 53 balls.

As he took off his helmet, raised his bat to the smattering of crowd in the stadium and kissed his wedding ring in his necklace, Kohli’s gentle smile screamed of the relief he must have felt.

Probably, he would have least expected to bring up his 71st century in the shortest format while opening the innings with regular skipper Rohit Sharma opting to rest in the inconsequential match.

As It HappenedOnly an event as special as this could have injected some interest in the match. His innings of unbeaten 122 off 61 balls (with 12 fours and six sixes), which had one blemish when he was dropped on 28 by Ibrahim Zadran at deep mid-wicket off captain Mohammad Nabi, helped India post a mammoth total of 212/2.

bowling fencing win India vs Afghanistan cup Rohit Sharma Asia Cup Mohammad Nabi Ibrahim Zadran India Dubai Afghanistan

Read more on the timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Virat Kohli has got back his "power game" and things have started falling in place for him ahead of the T20 World Cup, feels former India Test cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar. Kohli had endured a lean patch for nearly three years before he decided to take a month-long mental health break while reinventing himself during last month's Asia Cup. He finished as India's highest run-getter and since then continued his good form in the just-concluded T20Is against Australia, where his half-century in the series decider gave glimpses of vintage Kohli that the fans have been yearning to see.

Virat Kohli Ends Drought With His Maiden T20 International Ton As India Win Big

Virat Kohli hit his first international century since November 2019 with a maiden T20 ton for India to lead the team's 101-run thrashing of Afghanistan in the Asia Cup on Thursday. The star batsman stood unbeaten on 122 off 61 deliveries to power India to 212-2 in Dubai after being put into bat first in their last Super Four match following their elimination from the tournament. Seam bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar then returned his T20 best of five wickets for four runs to help limit Afghanistan to 111-8 with Ibrahim Zadran unbeaten on 64.

Asia Cup 2022: India vs Afghanistan - Best Fantasy team, possible playing 11s, Head to Head, pitch & weather conditions and more

Afghanistan have both been knocked out of the Asia Cup. The two teams though still have one match left to play against each other. It is a dead rubber but the fans will be hoping to see some exciting cricket on the field. The two teams might be separated by as many as 9 ranking places in the ICC T20I team rankings (India at No.1 and Afghanistan at No. 10), but the Afghans have shown in this edition of the Asia Cup that they have evolved as a very potent T20I team. If you are a fantasy cricket player you would be wondering who to pick in your team for tonight's match. Here are suggestions for a fantasy 11, along with possible playing 11s for tonight's match in Dubai, weather conditions, Head to Head and more:Fantasy playing XI: Possible combination -Top order batters: Rohit Sharma (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Virat Kohli Middle order batters: Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik Wicket-keeper: Rahmanullah Gurbaz All-rounders: Hardik Pandya & Mohammad Nabi Pacers: Fazalhaq Farooqui, Fareed Ahmad Spinners: Rashid Khan (vc)

Asia Cup 2022: India out of contention for final even before last match against Afghanistan

Asia Cup final after Pakistan beat Afghanistan by one wicket in a tense 'Super 4' match in Sharjah. Winless in two matches, both India and Afghanistan are out of the tournament and Thursday's match between the two sides here has been rendered inconsequential. With four points each from two wins apiece, Pakistan and Sri Lanka sealed their places in the summit clash to be played on Sunday.

Asia Cup 2022, India vs Afghanistan: How constant shuffling of players has hurt Team India

Poor Asia Cup show could signal end to India's trial-and-error approach leading up to the Twenty20 World CupDUBAI: Four years ago, when he stood in for regular captain Virat Kohli in the 50-over Asia Cup here in the UAE, Rohit Sharma had claimed that the constant chopping and changing in the middle order was not going to help India's cause in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup. It's ironic that now, when he is the regular all-format captain and the T20 World Cup is just under two months away, the team management seems reluctant to settle down on a combination. The constant shuffling of players has hurt India, especially in this Asia Cup. 'Rotation', 'rest' and 'resource pool' have been the buzzwords in this Indian team over the last eight months. One may argue India lost Ravindra Jadeja to injury and were missing Jasprit Bumrah in the game against Sri Lanka on Tuesday night. The fact remains, however, that the team has played musical chairs with the middle order and the bowling attack.

Naseem Shah sends Pakistan to Asia Cup final as Afghanistan and India crash out

Naseem Shah peeled off two successive sixes off the first two balls of the final over as Pakistan broke Afghanistan’s hearts in Sharjah.