India invade Indore!

Twin elegant half-centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube made it a walk in the park for India as they cruised to a six-wicket victory against Afghanistan to clinch the three-match T20 International series 2-0 on Sunday.

The pair made a target of 173 look ridiculously easy on a small Indore ground after the visiting batters did a commendable job at the backend to register a 170+ score. Virat Kohli, who featured in his first T20I for India since November 2022, played his part with his authoritative stroke play, while Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel also made a significant contribution with the ball.

Jaiswal, who hit 68 off 34 balls, returned to the team along with star batsman Virat Kohli after the two missed the opening win of the three-match series. Jaiswal put on key partnerships including a 92-run stand with left-handed partner Dube, who hit an unbeaten 63, as India chased down their victory target with 26 balls to spare and take an unbeatable 2-0 lead.

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The series win set the right tone for the upcoming World Cup in June this year. "We have been clear with what we wanted to do, a very clear message to everyone and when you see a performance like that, you can be really proud," skipper Rohit Sharma said during the post-match presentation. "One thing is talking about it, but to actually go there and play that way is a proud feeling. The last two games, we've ticked a lot of boxes."

Much like India's Mohali encounter, bowlers again set up victory with left-arm spinner Patel leading the charge with figures of 2-17 to bundle out Afghanistan for 172 despite Gulbadin Naib's 57. Sharma is yet to score a run in the series, but thanks to Kohli, who made up for the disappointment.

Jaiswal stroked his way to 34-ball 68, his fourth T20I half-ton, with the help of five fours and six sixes, before he fell to Karim Janat who struck twice in an over. Meanwhile, Dube, who starred in the team's opening win, joined the charge to hit his second successive fifty. After Jaiswal's departure, Dube knew he had to stand firm to steer the team home and get past his previous T20I best of 60 not out.

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"They've had a great couple of years, Jaiswal has played Test cricket now and even T20I. He has shown what he is capable of. He has the talent and has a great range of shots. Dube is a big guy, very powerful and can take on the spinners. That is his role and he has come out and played two crucial innings for us," Sharma remarked.

Earlier Naib rained sixes in his 35-ball knock to raise his fourth T20 half-century for Afghanistan but fell against the run of play when Patel got the batsman caught at short mid-wicket by Sharma.

The visitors could have sealed the series, but, as the pitch slowed down in both matches, so did they. Naib anchored the first innings, as Gurbaz did in Mohali, but again struggled for fluency and consistency. As in the first T20I, India's attack put in an intelligent performance to prevent Afghanistan from surpassing 150. Flamboyant all-rounder Patel did not concede a boundary during an immaculate four-over spell, as other bowlers joined in, and later Dube took matters in his own hands.