Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 84 off 66 balls and KL Rahul’s 39* off 19 powered India to a seven-wicket win over Afghanistan in the rain-reduced first ODI in Dharamsala, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Chasing 195 in a 25-over contest, India finished the job in 22.5 overs with 13 balls to spare, after Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 51-ball 102 had earlier lifted Afghanistan to 194 all out in 24.5 overs.
The match, scheduled to start at 1.30pm local time, was delayed by more than four hours due to persistent drizzle before being cut to 25 overs a side. In the shortened format, Gurbaz’s record-setting century kept Afghanistan afloat after early damage, but India’s debutants Harsh Dubey and Gurnoor Brar struck three times each to ensure the visitors couldn’t fully capitalise. Gill then anchored India’s chase, with Rahul providing the late surge to close out the game.
Gurbaz dazzles, but India’s debutants and late burst rein Afghanistan in
Afghanistan’s innings revolved around Gurbaz from the outset. He began aggressively, taking 11 off the first over from Arshdeep Singh with a four and a six, and continued to attack even as wickets fell around him. India’s new faces made immediate impact: Brar struck with his fifth ball when Ibrahim Zadran spooned a leading edge to mid-off, and Arshdeep followed by pinning Sediqullah Atal in front before removing Rahmat Shah, who mistimed a shot over square leg with Dubey completing a running-back catch.
At 26 for 3 inside five overs, Afghanistan were in danger of collapsing, but Gurbaz arrested the slide with a dominant fourth-wicket partnership. In an 11-over stand worth 116 with Hashmatullah Shahidi, Gurbaz scored 82 of the runs, repeatedly finding the boundary to keep the scoring rate climbing. He struck Prasidh Krishna for two fours in the seventh over, then took on Dubey with a four and a six to reach a 25-ball fifty by launching him over deep midwicket.
Gurbaz accelerated through the middle overs, including a particularly punishing 12th over against Washington Sundar that brought a four and two sixes. He moved to 94 with a six over long-off and brought up his hundred off 48 balls with a brace to deep midwicket in the 15th over. After 15 overs, Afghanistan were scoring at 9.33 an over and looked set for a total beyond 220.
India’s response was decisive. Nitish Kumar Reddy flattened Gurbaz’s middle stump in the 16th over, and Dubey followed by claiming his maiden international wicket when he removed Shahidi in the next. Azmatullah Omarzai hit Dubey for two sixes but fell to the same bowler soon after, and Afghanistan’s collapse continued as they slipped to 182 for 8 after 22 overs. Gill added a standout moment in the field with a one-handed catch at slip, leaping left to grab a thick edge from AM Ghazanfar. Rashid Khan struck two fours late on, but Brar ended the innings as Afghanistan were bowled out for 194 in 24.5 overs.
India’s chase: Gill holds firm as Rahul finishes in style
India’s reply began with drama even before a legal delivery was bowled. Omarzai opened with five wides, a no-ball and another wide, leaving India 7 for 0 without a ball counting. The over also included a bouncer that hit Rohit Sharma on the right glove, with the physio attending to him multiple times. Rohit still found boundaries, including a six and a four off Omarzai, before a misunderstanding brought Afghanistan a breakthrough.
With India moving to 40 for 0 after six overs, Rohit was run out for 16 after ticking Ghazanfar to the left of midwicket and setting off, while Gill found the bowler in his way and couldn’t respond cleanly. Ishan Kishan, playing his first ODI since October 2023, quickly injected pace into the chase, adding 70 off 43 balls with Gill. The pair kept the required rate in check, taking boundaries regularly and targeting Mohammad Nabi in particular, with Kishan hitting a four and six in the 10th over and Gill responding with a six and two fours in the 12th to bring up a 37-ball fifty.
Kishan’s 34 off 22 ended when he was beaten by a Rashid Khan googly and lost his off stump charging down the track. Shreyas Iyer made 12 off 15, but Rahul ensured there was no late wobble. With India needing 33 off 24, Rahul attacked Ziaur Rahman for 6, 4, 4 and then finished the 22nd over with another six over deep extra cover. He and Gill then completed an unbroken 53-run stand off 32 balls for the fourth wicket, with Rahul hitting the winning runs off Mohammad Saleem.
What the result means for the series
India’s seven-wicket win, achieved with 13 balls remaining, puts them 1-0 up in the three-match ODI series and gives them early control after a weather-hit opener. For Afghanistan, Gurbaz’s 102 stood out as the fastest ODI century by an Afghanistan batter and his ninth in the format, but the lack of support from the rest of the line-up proved costly as India’s bowlers and debutants combined to keep the total within reach.
