Stormy half-centuries by Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube propelled India to a dominant six-wicket win over Afghanistan in their second T20 International in Indore on Sunday, sealing a 2-0 victory for the hosts in the three-match series.
Opener Jaiswal hit six sixes as he scored 68 of 34 balls to set the tone for India's reply to Afghanistan's 172, while Dube, another left-hander, got his second unbeaten half-century in this series, scoring 63 off 32 balls as India reached the target with 4.2 overs to spare.
Though Afghanistan were unable to build a big partnership, Gulbadin Naib's sturdy 57 off 35 balls laid the foundations for a competitive total. Once he fell to spinner Axar Patel (2-17) in the 12th over, Najibullah Zadran (23), Karim Janat (20) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (21) maintained the momentum.
Afghanistan were all out in the last ball of the innings, losing four wickets in medium pacer Arshdeep Singh's (3-32) final over including two run outs.
India's chase got off to a rocky start with captain Rohit Sharma being bowled out by Fazalhaq Farooqi (1-28) for a golden duck.
Number three batter Virat Kohli then came out to join hands with opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and hammered the Afghanistan bowlers all around the ground. Jaiswal was in magnificent form as the batter smoked both spinners and pacers of visitors.
Jaiswal and Kohli hammered Mujeeb Ur Rahman for 19 runs with the help of four boundaries
The 22-year-old Jaiswal built a 57-run partnership with Virat Kohli (29) that put India in the driving seat.
Jaiswal brought his fiery half-century in 27 balls after Kohli was taken out by Naveen-ul-Haq.
Naveen cut Kohli's 29-run stay at the crease in the 6th over of the game.
Dube joined Jaiswal for the third-wicket partnership and the two added another 92 runs in the next seven overs, and by the time India lost two quick wickets to Karim Janat (2-13), including Jaiswal, it did little to swing the momentum.
Earlier, Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel's fiery bowling performances helped India bundle out Afghanistan for 172.
Put in to bat, Afghanistan openers Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz set a solid tone for their team as they heavily slammed an Indian pacers in the first two overs before leggie Ravi Bishnoi helped India take back control as he removed Gurbaz for 14.
The right-handed batter Naib then handled the charge with the opener and got off to the mark with back-to-back two fours.
Gulbadin then single-handedly smoked Bishnoi for 18 runs with the help of one maximum and two boundaries before Axar Patel broke the partnership and removed Zadran for 8.
Afghanistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals before Arshdeep bagged two wickets and Afghanistan lost two batters to runs out and bundled out for 172 runs.
The third and final T20I of the series takes place in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
