 "India vs Afghanistan 3rd T20")
It required not one but two Super Overs to finally decide the winner of the India vs Afghanistan match in the third T20 international of the three-match series at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, January 17. It was the first instance where two Super Overs were played in the history of international cricket since the introduction of the rule that consecutive Super Overs will be played to determine the winner if they get tied.
Why did the match go into the Super Over?
Gulabdin Naib, all of six foot one inch was at his beastly best as he hit an unbeaten 55 off just 23 balls to get Afghanistan to a Super Over. He hit 18 off Mukesh Kumar’s last over where 19 were required to win. As a result, the match went into the Super Over. India scored 212/4 in the first innings while Afghanistan finished on 212/6 in their 20 overs.
What happened in the first Super Over?
In the Super Over though, he was run out for just one on the very first ball and could not do much. Mukesh Kumar, who had conceded 18 in regulation time in the last over, nailed the yorker on the first ball itself and Gyurbaz ran two, but Kohli at long-on was smart enough to throw at the keeper’s end where Gulbadin couldn’t even reach the crease before Sanju Samson removed the stumps.
Mukesh was superb in the Super Over for the first four balls. However, on the fifth ball, he slightly overpitched Nabi and punched it for a six over the long-on, thanks to the power of his bottom hand.
The overthrow controversy involving Mohammad Nabi
More From This Section
However, the real drama happened on the last ball as Nabi did not manage to get the connection right, but still ran for a single as Sanju Samson from behind the stumps threw the ball to the bowler to try and get Nabi run out.
However, the ball hit Nabi and Nabi, since he was not running in the line of the ball, carried on to run for the overthrow even though Virat Kohli did not try and throw the ball to get him run out. Rohit was furious with Nabi for running the two overthrows. However, the 39-year-old Afghan was heard mouthing, “Maine to nhi maara na,” in chaste hindi, which translates to I didn’t hit the ball purposefully. Simon Doull on commentary said that he shouldn’t have run.
Excellent effort near the ropes!
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 17, 2024
How's that for a save from Virat Kohli ????????
Follow the Match ▶️ https://t.co/oJkETwOHlL#TeamIndia | #INDvAFG | @imVkohli | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/0AdFb1pnL4
What happened when India batted in the first Super Over?
Rohit Sharma hit two sixes and then took a single on the fifth ball to give Yashasvi Jaiswal a chance to win the match by hitting two on the last ball. The first two balls had fetched just two runs. Jaiswal was unable to get anything more than a single even as Rohit retired himself and brought in Rinku Singh to run a quick double. The Super Over got tied and the match headed into the second of them.
What happened in the second over?
Instead of Jaiswal, it was Rinku who accompanied Rohit to the crease this time around as India batted first. According to the rule the team batting last at the time of the tie, gets to bat first in the Super Over.
After Rohit hit a four and a six and took a single on the third ball, Rinku was out caught behind and then on the very next ball, it was yet again a dot ball as new batter Sanju Samson couldn’t connect. Rohit ran, trying to get to the striker’s end. However, Afghan wicket-keeper Gurbaz hit the wicket directly and India lost two wickets to get all-out in the super over for 11 runs.
Ravi Bishnoi was handed the responsibility to bowl the Super Over for India and he delivered, getting two wickets in the first three balls and wrapping up the game and the series.
All Super overs in T20 Internationals
