Reported By:
| Edited By: DNA Web Team |Source: DNA webdesk |Updated: Sep 08, 2022, 11:44 PM IST
Virat Kohli smashed his 71st century to end a wait of 3 years, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up five wickets as India beat Afghanistan by 101 runs. Even though the result does not do the Men in Blue any good in terms of their Asia Cup journey, the campaign ends on a positive note.
Team India were dominant from start to finish as Kohli's century propelled them to a score of 212/2 in their respective 20 overs. In reply, Afghanistan could only muster up 111 runs as Bhuvneshwar ran riot with the ball.
In a dead rubber, talismanic batter Virat Kohli gave Indian fans tons of reasons to be happy. As captain Rohit Sharma was rested, Kohli was promoted to open the batting. What followed next was something which anyone could have predicted, leaving Kohli himself surprised.
READ| Asia Cup 2022: How does the Super 4 points table read after India beat Afghanistan?
Kohli ended his drought of not scoring a century in international cricket for 1020 days with a sensational career-best 122 off just 61 balls, laced with 12 fours and six sixes, at a strike rate of 200.
After a rollicking opening stand of 119 off 76 balls, with stand-in captain KL Rahul making 65 of those runs, Kohli accelerated amazingly from 59 off 40 balls to get his next 63 runs off just 21 balls to score a long-standing 71st international century. On the back of Kohli's century, India made a mammoth 212/2.
Then, senior pacer Bhuvneshwar's spell of 5/4, with lots of swing and hitting the right areas consistently, dismantled the Afghanistan challenge, eventually restricting them to 111/8 in 20 overs.
It was a day to forget for Afghanistan, who arrived into this game less than 24 hours after a one-wicket heartbreak against Pakistan in Sharjah. They dropped catches, including of Kohli on 28, looked jaded and simply weren't at their best.
With agency inputs
