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IND vs AFG 3rd ODI 1st Inning Highlights: In the third ODI match being played between India and Afghanistan at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Afghanistan batted hard and scored 218 runs at the loss of 10 wickets in 44.2 overs. Afghan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi played an important role in taking his team to a respectable score by playing a brilliant century. Indian fast bowler Prasidh Krishna broke the back of the Afghan batting order by taking five wickets with lethal bowling.

After winning the toss and coming to bat first, Afghanistan had a very poor start. The team lost three important wickets of its top order in the initial overs itself. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (5), Ibrahim Zadran (11) and Rahmat Shah (5) failed to play big innings. The Indian bowlers maintained constant pressure with the new ball, due to which the Afghan team could not recover from the initial shock.

However, captain Hashmatullah Shahidi held one end and took the innings forward by batting responsibly. He faced 131 balls and scored 102 runs, which included 13 fours and one six. This innings came at a time when the team was continuously losing wickets and there seemed little hope of a big score.

Shahidi got good support from Azmatullah Omarzai in the middle order. Omarzai made an important partnership with the captain by scoring 50 runs in 56 balls. Both the batsmen, while handling the innings, made important contributions in taking Afghanistan beyond 200 runs. Experienced all-rounder Mohammad Nabi also played a useful inning of 21 runs.

Prasidh Krishna was the most successful bowler from India. He did not give the Afghan batting a chance to play freely while taking wickets at regular intervals. Afghan batsmen were seen struggling in front of his sharp bowling. Prasidh took five wickets and put India in a strong position in the match.

Other bowlers Prince Yadav (1 wicket), Harsh Dubey (1 wicket) and Gurnoor Brar (1 wicket) also achieved important successes. Indian fielders also performed brilliantly and capitalized on the opportunities of catches and runouts, due to which Afghanistan missed out on scoring a big score.

At one time, the Afghanistan team seemed to be getting close to 250, but due to the fall of wickets at regular intervals in the last overs, the team was reduced to 218 runs. Now the Indian batsmen have a target of 219 runs. Considering the pitch conditions and India’s strong batting, Team India is considered a strong contender for victory, but Afghanistan’s bowlers will also try their best to save this target.

The Indian team has already won the series 2-0 and is now looking at a white wash against the Afghan team. In this match, now all eyes will be on the Indian batsmen to see how they chase this target and whether they are successful in helping the team win or not.