Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane put on 121 runs for the opening stand as India thrashed a sorry Afghanistan by eight wickets for a consolation win in their last league match in the Asia Cup in Dhaka on Wednesday. Both Dhawan and Rahane made fifties guiding India to 160-2 in 32.2 overs after spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin shared seven wickets between them to skittle Afghanistan out for 159 runs.
Dhawan top scored with 60 off 78 balls with four fours and a six while Rahane made 56 facing 66 balls.
Rahane made his promotion in the batting order ahead of Rohit Sharma count, striking five boundaries before he was dismissed leg-before wicket by Mirwais Ashraf.
Mohammad Nabi bowled Dhawan to bring some smile in the Afghans’ faces but Sharma (18 not out) and Dinesh Kartik (21 not out) completed the win without facing further trouble.
Samiullah Shenwari scored highest 50 off 73 balls to give the Afghanistan innings a measure of respectability before they were all out in 45.2 overs.
The first-ever one-dayer between the two teams had no bearing on the tournament’s equation because Pakistan and Sri Lanka have already qualified for Saturday’s final.
But it gave tournament newcomers Afghanistan a chance to test their skills against the reigning World Cup champions ahead of their maiden appearance in the tournament next year.
The Afghan batsmen appeared comfortable against the seamers, racing to 54-1 by the 12th over, before wickets collapsed in a heap against the turning ball.
Left-arm spinner Jadeja, brought on to bowl the 12th over, struck with his first and third deliveries to reduce the Afghans to 55-3.
With Jadeja and off-spinner Ashwin quickly taking care of the next four batsmen, Afghanistan found themselves struggling at 95-7 in the 26th over.
Shenwari boosted the total with six boundaries and a six in his fifth one-day half-century and second in the tournament as the last three wickets added 64 valuable runs.
Shenwari, who struck an unbeaten 81 off 69 balls to help Afghanistan pull off an upset 32-run win over hosts Bangladesh, struck six fours and a six.
Noor Ali Zadran (31) and Mohammad Shehzad (22) were the only other Afghanistan batsmen to cross single digits.
Jadeja finished with four for 30 and Ashwin claimed three for 31.
BRIEF SCORES
Afghanistan 159 in 45.2 overs (S Shenwari 50, Noor Ali Zadran 31; R Jadeja 4-30, R Ashwin 3-31, M Shami 2-50) v India 160-2 in 32.2 overs (S Dhawan 60, A Rahane 56;
M Ashraf 1-26).
Result: India won by 8 wickets.
Man of the match: R Jadeja (IND)
-With New Age input
