Chennai: Fast bowler Prasidh Krishna’s maiden five-wicket haul and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s unbeaten century powered India to a dominant nine-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the third ODI, completing a 3-0 series sweep at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday.
Prasidh produced a sensational spell of 5-23 in nine overs, claiming four wickets during the Power-play with his pace, bounce and swing, as India bowled Afghanistan out for 218 in 44.2 overs despite skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi’s maiden ODI century.
In reply, Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma put on a commanding 170-run opening partnership, including five penalty runs. Jaiswal then remained unbeaten on 110 off 86 balls, smashing his second ODI century in three innings, with 14 fours and three sixes, as India chased down the target in just 28.4 overs with 128 balls to spare.
The victory also marked India’s first ODI series win under captain Shubman Gill.
India made a confident start as Rohit and Jaiswal handled the early movement and struck boundaries through crisp drives and cuts, reaching 42 without loss after five overs.
Jaiswal shifted gears in the seventh over, hitting a flurry of boundaries off Fareed Ahmad. Strong strike rotation and aggressive stroke-play helped India reach 86 without losing a wicket at the end of the Power-play.
With Afghanistan struggling to create pressure, the Indian openers continued their attack. Jaiswal reached his half-century off 38 balls in the 11th over with a well-timed drive to long-off, while Rohit brought up his fifty off 47 balls in the 16th over.
Afghanistan brought in spinners Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi in an attempt to slow the scoring rate, but Rohit and Jaiswal continued rotating the strike and punishing loose deliveries. A mix-up between the batters briefly threatened a run-out, but India remained firmly in control.
Nabi finally provided the breakthrough in the 23rd over, dismissing Rohit for a well-made 79 after the batter pulled a delivery to deep mid-wicket.
Shreyas Iyer joined Jaiswal, who continued to dominate the Afghanistan attack. With the required rate under control, the duo comfortably rotated the strike and capitalised on short deliveries.
Afghanistan’s bowlers kept searching for wickets but were let down by fielding errors and misfields. As India neared the finish line, Jaiswal accelerated further and completed his century off 83 balls with a superb inside-out drive over extra cover against Nabi.
He then finished the match in style, sweeping and lofting the final delivery over long-on to seal India’s emphatic win.
Earlier, Afghanistan posted 218 after Shahidi anchored the innings with a fighting 102, while Azmatullah Omarzai contributed 50. However, Prasidh’s brilliant bowling ensured India kept control throughout the innings.
Brief scores:
Afghanistan 218 all out in 44.2 overs (Hashmatullah Shahidi 102, Azmatullah Omarzai 50; Prasidh Krishna 5-23, Harsh Dubey 1-38) lost to India 224/1 in 28.4 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 110 not out, Rohit Sharma 79; Mohammad Nabi 1-47) by nine wickets.