INDORE: Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube smashed half-centuries as India thrashed Afghanistan by six wickets to clinch the series in the second Twenty20 international in Indore on Sunday.

       Jaiswal, who hit 68 off 34 balls, returned to the team along with star batsman Virat Kohli after the two missed the opening win of the three-match series.

       Jaiswal put on key partnerships including 92-run stand with left-handed partner Dube, who hit an unbeaten 63, as India chased down their victory target with 26 balls to spare and take an unbeatable 2-0 lead.

       Bowlers set up victory with left-arm spinner Axar Patel leading the charge with figures of 2-17 to bowl out Afghanistan for 172 despite Gulbadin Naib’s 57.

       Kohli, who played his first T20 for India since November 2022, made 29 in a partnership of 57 after skipper Rohit Sharma fell for a second successive duck.

       Jaiswal took apart the opposition bowling after left-arm quick Fazalhaq Farooqi bowled Rohit and fellow fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq took down Kohli.

       Jaiswal reached his fourth T20 half-ton for India and Dube, who starred in the team’s opening win, joined the charge to hit his second successive fifty.

       Jaiswal hit five fours and six sixes before he fell to Karim Janat who struck twice in an over but Dube stood firm to steer the team home and get past his previous T20 best of 60 not out.

       Earlier Naib, a top-order batsman, took on the Indian bowling attack in his 35-ball knock laced with five fours and four sixes.

       He raised his fourth T20 half-century for Afghanistan but fell against the run of play when Patel got the batsman caught at short mid-wicket by Rohit.

       Wickets kept tumbling, but Najibullah Zadran (23 off 21 balls), Janat (10-ball 20) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (21 off nine) boosted the Afghanistan total.

       The last over from left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh, who ended with three wickets, bro-ught four wickets including two run outs as Afghanistan were bowled out on the final ball.

       Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi took two wickets. The final match is on Wednesday in Bengaluru.

       SCOREBOARD

       AFGHANISTAN:

       Rahmanullah Gurbaz c Dube b Bishnoi 14

       Ibrahim Zadran b Patel 8

       Gulbadin Naib c Sharma b Patel 57

       Azmatullah Omarzai b Dube 2

       Mohammad Nabi c R. Singh b Bishnoi 14

       Najibullah Zadran b A. Singh 23

       Karim Janat c Patel b A. Singh 20

       Mujeeb Ur Rahman run out 21

       Noor Ahmad c Kohli b A. Singh 1

       Naveen-ul-Haq not out 1

       EXTRAS (LB-4, W-7) 11

       TOTAL (all out, 20 overs) 172

       FALL OF WICKETS: 1-20 (Gurbaz), 2-53 (Zadran), 3-60 (Omarzai), 4-91 (Naib), 5-104 (Nabi), 6-134 (Najibullah), 7-164 (Janat), 8-170 (Noor), 9-171 (Mujeeb)

       DID NOT BAT: Fazalhaq Farooqi

       BOWLING: A. Singh 4-0-32-3 (3w), Kumar 2-0-21-0, Bishnoi 4-0-39-2 (1w), Patel 4-0-17-2 (1w), Dube 3-0-36-1 (1w), Sundar 3-0-23-0 (1w)

       INDIA:

       Y. Jaiswal c Gurbaz b Janat 68

       R. Sharma b Farooqi 0

       V. Kohli c Zadran b Naveen 29

       S. Dube not out 63

       J. Sharma c Nabi b Janat 0

       R. Singh not out 9

       EXTRAS (LB-2, W-2) 4

       TOTAL (for four wickets, 15.4 overs) 173

       FALL OF WICKETS: 1-5 (Sharma), 2-62 (Kohli), 3-154 (Jaiswal), 4-156 (J. Sharma)

       DID NOT BAT: A. Patel, W. Sundar, R. Bishnoi, A. Singh, M. Kumar

       BOWLING: Farooqi 3.4-0-28-1, Mujeeb 2-0-32-0, Naveen 3-0-33-1, Noor 3-0-35-0 (2w), Nabi 2-0-30-0, Janat 2-0-13-2

       RESULT: India won by six wickets.

       PLAYER-OF-THE-MATCH: Axar Patel

       Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2024