India vs Afghanistan,1st T20I Stats Review: Shivam Dube's heroics, Rohit Sharma's Unwanted Records and Other Stats

Shivam Dube's all-round heroics (60 and 1 wicket) and Jitesh Sharma's Steady knock (31) steered India to a comfortable 6-wicket win over Afghanistan at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in the first match of the series. After winning the toss, India chose to field first. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran started brightly, putting on 50 for the opening wicket. Axar Patel then drew first blood, dismissing Gurbaz for 23. Soon after, Zadran fell to Shivam Dube for 25. Rahmat followed for just three, also Axar's victim.

Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi steadied the innings with a 68-run partnership. However, Azmatullah fell for 29 to Mukesh Kumar, and Nabi departed for 42. Najibullah Zadran and Karim Janat contributed cameos as Afghanistan reached 158/5 in their 20 overs. Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh were the pick of the Indian bowlers, claiming two wickets each.

In reply, Rohit Sharma was run out for a duck, while Shubman Gill scored 23 before being dismissed by Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Shivam Dube and Jitesh Sharma stitched a crucial 44-run partnership that was broken by Azmatullah Omarzai, with Dube going on to score a well-crafted unbeaten 60. Jitesh Sharma, in a quickfire 30 off 20 balls, and Rink Singh's 16 off 9 helped India chase down the target with 15 balls remaining and six wickets in hand.

Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers from the 1st T20I between India and Afghanistan:

1-Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran became the first Afghan opening pair to put together a 50+ partnership against India in T20Is.

11-India's streak of losing 11 consecutive coin tosses in international cricket finally ended today against Afghanistan. The streak, which began on November 26, 2023, and was the longest in India's cricketing history, surpassed their previous record of 9 losses.

30 years and 189 days - Rahmat Shah became the oldest player to debut for Afghanistan in T20Is at 30 years and 189 days old, surpassing Fazal Niazai's previous record of 29 years and 71 days.

36 years and 256 days -Rohit Sharma, at 36 years and 256 days, became the oldest player to captain India in a T20I match, surpassing the previous records of Shikhar Dhawan (35 years, 236 days) and MS Dhoni (35 years, 235 days).

2 - For the first time in six T20Is against India, Afghanistan registered two 50+ partnerships in a single innings.

3 - Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi combined for a 68-run partnership, which is the joint-highest for an Afghan pair against India in T20Is. This feat ties the record set by Noor Ali Zadran and Asghar Afghan in 2010 at Gros Islet.

3 - Rohit Sharma fell for a duck for the 11th time in T20Is, tying the record for joint-third most ducks by a full-member player with Regis Chakabva and Soumya Sarkar. Paul Stirling leads the pack with 13 ducks, followed by Kevin O'Brien with 12.

158/5 - Afghanistan's 158/5 is their highest total ever against India in T20Is, surpassing their previous best of 144/7 set in Abu Dhabi in 2021.

16 - India's successful chase against Afghanistan was their 16th victory when pursuing targets of 160 or below in home T20Is. They've only lost one such match, which was against New Zealand in the 2016 T20 World Cup at Nagpur.

100 -Rohit Sharma is now part of 100 T20I wins, which is the most for any player in Men’s T20I. He is also joint second-most across Men’s and Women’s T20Is. Other players to be part of 100 or more T20I wins are Danni Wyatt (111), Alyssa Healy (100) and Ellyse Perry(100).

5 -Rohit Sharma, has been dismissed for a duck for the fifth time in T20Is as Captain, which is the most by any Indian captain.