India established an iron grip over the T20 World Cup contest against Afghanistan on Thursday (June 20) after Jasprit Bumrah scalped two wickets in the powerplay. Bumrah, who has been in great form for India with the ball got the better of both Afghan openers putting India on the front foot as they defend a total of 182 runs. It was the Mumbai Indians bowler who also helped India beat Pakistan earlier in the month in the group stage.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

ALSO READ | T20 World Cup 2024: Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada star as South Africa beat USA in opening Super 8 game

Bumrah jolts Afghanistan

Chasing 182 runs to win, Bumrah struck gold with his golden arm having dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz on the second ball of his spell. The wicketkeeper batter departed for 11 leaving Afghanistan in a vulnerable position at the start of their innings. Bumrah was not done with that as he returned to get the better of Hazratullah Zazai (2) on the fourth ball of his second over.

The Super 8 surprise package would then lose another wicket on the first ball of the next over with Ibrahim Zadran falling for 8. This saw Afghanistan on 23/3 inside the powerplay leaving them with a task in hand to win their first match of the Super 8 stage.

At the time of writing, Afghanistan were 67/4 after 10.1 overs as they still needed 115 runs to win from 59 balls.

What happened in the Indian innings?

Batting first, it was another poor opening show for the Men in Blue as both Virat Kohli (24) and Rohit Sharma (8) failed to impress. However, it was Suryakumar Yadav (53) and Hardik Pandya (32 off 24) who made the difference as they led India to a solid score. The pair also got helpful hands from Rishabh Pant (20) and Axar Patel (12) to help India reach above 180. Shivam Dube had another off day at the office as he departed for 10 off 7.

Fazalhaq Farooqi and skipper Rashid Khan of Afghanistan scalped three wickets each but were unable to consolidate on a good start with the ball.

You can now write for Baazigarnews.com and be a part of the Baazigar family. Share your stories and opinions with us here.