ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024: Suryakumar and Bumrah help India win in the Super 8's opener

ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024: Suryakumar and Bumrah help India win in the Super 8's opener

Suryakumar came in during the eighth over and scored 41 runs from 21 balls, giving India a good base to score more in the final overs.

Suryakumar Yadav's great batting and Jasprit Bumrah's strong bowling helped India win by 47 runs against Afghanistan in their Super 8s match. India chose to bat first but lost some early wickets. Suryakumar scored 53 runs from 28 balls and, along with Hardik Pandya's 32 runs from 24 balls, helped India reach a good score of 182. Afghanistan couldn't reach this target and were  all out for 134 runs.Bumrah's excellent bowling, taking three wickets for seven runs in four overs, was key to India's win.

The Divergence: Suryakumar's Middle Over Magic

Rashid Khan took important wickets for Afghanistan, but Suryakumar helped India stay stong with his rapid scoring. He used the sweep shot well and made sure Afghanistan didn't get too far ahead, even though India lost four wickets in 11 overs. Suryakumar came in during the eighth over and scored 41 runs from 21 balls, giving India a good base to score more in the final overs. Meanwhile, Afghanistan kept losing wickets and couldn't find a player like Suryakumar to put pressure back on India. Despite only an 11-run difference in this phase, Afghanistan struggled with the required run rate and fell short of the target.

INDIA:

Initial Overs - 47/1 [RR: 7.83, 4s/6s: 5/1]

On a tricky pitch, the Indian openers found it hard to score runs. Fazalhaq Farooqi gave away only five runs in the first over, which included a lucky boundary from Rohit Sharma. Mohammad Nabi bowled the second over tightly, allowing only four runs. In the third over, Afghanistan lost a review when they thought Rohit was out, but he wasn't. Farooqi soon got Rohit out. Rishabh Pant started with a four and three runs quickly. Kohli hit a six and kept the runs coming. Pant hit a reverse sweep for four and was dropped, adding another boundary. Pant hit three fours in a row to end the powerplay well for India.

Middle Overs - 79/3 [RR: 8.77, 4s/6s: 6/3]

Rashid joined the game right after the start and quickly made a big difference. He stopped a partnership where 43 runs were scored fast. Pant got out trying a tricky shot and used up a challenge. Kohli got out in Rashid's next turn, catching the ball far away while trying a big shot. Suryakumar ended Rashid's turn with a great shot for four runs. Dube soon started hitting big against spin, smashing a six right over Noor Ahmad's head. Suryakumar kept attacking Rashid, hitting two big shots in one over. But Dube also got out in that over, caught in front and after a challenge, he had to leave. Pandya hit his first boundary with a strong shot through cover and later got another four with a daring sweep shot. Pandya managed Rashid's last over well, even hitting a four on the last ball. Rashid finished with three wickets for 26 runs. Suryakumar then hit a six straight off Omarzai's bowling.

Final Overs - 55/4 [RR: 11.00, 4s/6s: 5/3]

Pandya hit a four and then a big six in the 16th over. He and Suryakumar made a fifty-run partnership in the next over. Suryakumar hit a six and a four but got out later. Pandya hit another six and successfully challenged an umpire's decision but got out soon after. Jadeja hit a four but also got out. Axar Patel ended the innings with two fours. India scored over 180 runs in total.

AFGHANISTAN:

Initial Overs - 35/3 [RR: 5.83, 4s/6s: 2/2]

Rahmanullah Gurbaz started strong with a four and a six. Bumrah then slowed him down, getting him out with just one run. Ibrahim Zadran hit a four but got caught soon after. Hazratullah Zazai was caught out by Bumrah. Azmatullah Omarzai hit a four, but Bumrah already had two wickets for five runs. Afghanistan scored a six at the end of the powerplay but was still below six runs per over by the sixth over.

Middle Overs - 66/2 [RR: 7.33, 4s/6s: 2/3]

Pandya bowled well, only giving away five runs in his first over. Axar was tight too, conceding just seven runs in his third over. But Kuldeep and Jadeja struggled initially, allowing some boundaries. Despite Afghanistan hitting a few sixes, India remained in control, with Afghanistan needing a lot of runs in the final overs.

Final Overs - 33/5 [RR:6.60 , 4s/6s: 2/2]

Bumrah got Najibullah out, then Nabi hit a six but got out too. Noor hit a four, but Afghanistan needed 63 runs in three overs. Rashid and Naveen got out to Arshdeep. Afghanistan finished their 20 overs, but Arshdeep took three wickets.

Score Summary:

India made 181 runs in their 20 overs and Afghanistan scored 134 runs, giving India a victory by 47 runs.