India vs Afghanistan 2024

‘It was a smart and brave…” Former India Great lauds Rohit Sharma’s tactical genius for giving Ravi Bishnoi second Super over against Afghanistan

India won the third and final T20I against Afghanistan in a double super-over thriller at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. India were reeling at 22-4 when Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh took matters into their own hands and stitched a record partnership of 190 runs for the 5th wicket and took India’s score to 212 runs.

In reply, Afghanistan started well with an opening partnership of 93 runs between Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran. Aghanistan’s top three batter smashed a rollicking half-century to take them to even India’s score but eventually couldn’t cross the line resulting in a super over. 

But the drama wasn’t over here as Afghanistan managed to score 16 runs in the and when India were looking to chase down the super over target of 17 runs on the back of two towering sixes from Rohit Sharma, the spirited Afghans again made a comeback to stop India to only 16 which dramatically resulted in another super over.

The match proceeded to the second Super Over, with the Men in Blue batting first but managing to score only 11 runs.

Notably, the Indian captain opted for Ravi Bishnoi to bowl the Super Over. Despite the pressure, the spinner remained composed and took two wickets in three deliveries, playing a crucial role in securing the victory for the hosts.

Former India great lauds Rohit’s tactical genius

Meanwhile, India’s former left-arm great Zaheer Khan lauded Rohit Sharma’s captaincy and tactical mind to give Ravi Bishnoi the super over instead of a fast bowler which is a common practice. 

While speaking to Jio Cinema in the post-match show he said, “I believe it was a smart and brave decision because you don’t have that much time in these situations. You have to back your instincts and thinking. So whoever was part of that think-tank, you need to praise them for sure,” Zaheer said while talking to JioCinema.

The 45-year-old further added, “The second Super Over started very well, (India) started with a six. So it seemed like India would bat Afghanistan out, but that didn’t happen. They lost two wickets and didn’t even play the entire six balls. After that, you had to make a big decision, about who would bowl. So that decision was taken very well because batters generally score 12 runs easily as the bowler makes mistakes due to the pressure on him.”