An explosive century from Rahmanullah Gurbaz and useful contributions from Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai propelled Afghanistan to 194 in the first ODI against India on Saturday at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.
The match was reduced to a 25-overs-per-side contest, with each team allowed a maximum of five bowlers who could bowl up to five overs each, following a rain delay of over four hours.
India handed debuts to Harsh Dubey and Gurnoor Brar, and the duo made an immediate impact by sharing six wickets between them, taking three each.
Asked to bat first, Afghanistan had a shaky start as openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran walked out. Debutant Gurnoor Brar struck early, dismissing Ibrahim for just one run, bringing Sediqullah Atal to the crease.
India tightened their grip soon after when Arshdeep Singh removed Atal for a duck, leaving Afghanistan in early trouble. Rahmat Shah then joined Gurbaz, but the wicketkeeper-batter continued to counterattack, playing his shots freely and keeping the scoreboard moving despite the setbacks.
Arshdeep Singh, in his following over, struck again by removing Shah for 3, bringing skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi to the crease. From then on, the duo built a vital partnership to take Afghanistan out of trouble.
By the end of 10 overs, Afghanistan had recovered to 79/3, largely thanks to Gurbaz, who brought up a well-crafted half-century.
After reaching his fifty, Gurbaz shifted into an even higher gear, taking the attack to the Indian bowlers with a series of aggressive strokes. The opener regularly found boundaries and dispatched loose balls, keeping the scoreboard ticking at a brisk rate and putting India under pressure.
In the 15th over, Gurbaz brought up his ninth ODI hundred by pushing the ball for a couple of runs off Brar. In the very next over, Nitish Reddy struck and cleaned up Gurbaz for 102 off 51 balls, laced with eight fours and sixes each, bringing Azmatullah Omarzai to the crease.
The duo of Gurbaz and Shahidi added 116 runs off 66 balls for the fourth wicket. That partnership, at a run rate of 10.54, is now the second best for any century stand for Afghanistan in ODIs, only behind the 12.1 run rate achieved by Ibrahim Zadran and Mohammad Nabi against England during the Champions Trophy last year.
This is also the seventh hundred for Gurbaz as a designated wicketkeeper; only Quinton de Kock has more (13) before turning 25.
Another debutant, Harsh Dubey, struck in the 17th over by removing Afghanistan skipper Shahidi for 27, bringing veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi to the crease.
As the visitors were stitching another vital partnership, Reddy struck again, removing Nabi for 9 after he was clubbed for a massive six, bringing Rashid Khan to the crease.
In the very next over, Dubey struck twice to deliver a double blow, removing Azmatullah Omarzai for 26 and AM Ghazanfar for a duck, and bringing Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi to the crease.
In the final over of the innings, Brar returned to wrap things up in style. The debutant picked up his second wicket of the match by dismissing Rashid Khan for 9, before striking two balls later to remove Sharifi for 4, bundling Afghanistan out for 194.
India will require 195 runs in their 25 overs to seal the match and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.
