The battle between Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq was in the fray in the second match between India and Afghanistan. The second match of the three-way series took place at the Holkar Stadium in Indore in which the hosts won the match and clinched the series.
Virat Kohli returned to the T20I setup after 14 months and had a decent outing in the game. The batsman came out with an attacking mentality and attacked the bowlers from the beginning, ensuring that they kept the run rate high, which has been the new focus of Indian cricket.
Virat Kohli played some magnificent knocks in his innings and got the crowd going. He gave glimpses of the old Kohli with the kind of shots he played. One of the highlights of his innings was his battle with Naveen-ul-Haq.
Virat Kohli, who had a falling out with Naveen-ul-Haq during the IPL, seemed focused on playing against the pacer. He hit some limits against it and made sure it was worth the crowd’s money. But the pacer had the last laugh as he cleaned it up to silence the fans.
During the third ball of the sixth over, Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq bowled a full toss that was in the slot. Virat Kohli tried to bat over the cricket but failed to clear the ball mid-on and was caught by Ibrahim Zadran, who caught the ball over his head.
Virat Kohli played completely different innings than what we have seen over the years. The batsman seemed to be in attack mode and wanted to score as many boundaries as possible, but he died in the process. This could well be an indication of how he will fare with the T20Is.
Virat Kohli finished with 29 runs off 16 balls. He batted with a strike rate of over 181 and also smashed five boundaries in his innings. His knock came at a crucial time when India lost captain Rohit Sharma for a duck in the first over.
IND vs AFG: After Virat Kohli’s wicket, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube take India home
After Virat Kohli walked out, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube took center stage. The duo attacked the players and showed no mercy. They made sure to take the game completely away from the opposition, they deserved their brutal power and made them stand up and applaud them.
They added 92 runs for the third wicket and got their team over the finishing line. While Jaiswal (68) died at the end earlier, Dube (63*) remained unbeaten and made sure to take his team home with 6 wickets in hand. This was the latter’s second consecutive half-century in the series.
India completed a dominant 6-wicket win with 26 balls to spare. They took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and will look to sweep the three-match series. The last match will be played on January 17 in Bengaluru and it remains to be seen what combination India will field in the game.
