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A record-breaking century by skipper Rohit Sharma and a half-century by Rinku Singh helped India reach a massive 212/4 in 20 overs following early loss of wickets against Afghanistan in the third T20I at Bengaluru on Wednesday.
India needs to defend 213 to win the series 3-0. Opting to bat first, India had a bad start as they lost opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and star batter Virat Kohli for a golden duck on back-to-back balls by Fareed Ahmed in the third over. Jaiswal's catch was picked by Mohammed Nabi for just four runs while Ibrahim Zadran caught Virat at mid-off to reduce India to 18/2 in 2.4 overs. Afghanistan were all over the India batters as Azmatullah Omarzai removed Shivam Dube for just one after being caught behind by Rahmanullah Gurbaz. In the fifth over, Sanju Samson was out for a golden duck after being caught by Nabi, giving Fareed his third wicket. India was 22/4 in 4.3 overs. Then the pair of skipper Rohit and Rinku Singh joined forces to help India gain recovery. At the end of the powerplay in six overs, India was 30/4, with Rinku (2*) and Rohit (13*) unbeaten. The eighth over by Saleem Saifi gave away 14 runs, including two sixes by Rohit. India reached the 50-run mark in 8.4 overs. Halfway through the innings, India was 61/4, with Rohit (27*) and Rinku (19*) unbeaten. In the 12th and 13th overs, Rohit and Rinku gathered a lot of runs, Sharafuddin Ashraf and Qais Ahmad were smashed for 16 runs each, with Rohit hitting two fours and two sixes and Rinku getting a six. India reached the 100-run mark in 13.2 overs. Rohit reached his 30th T20I fifty in 41 balls, with five fours and three sixes. At the end of 15 overs, India was 109/4, with Rohit (55*) and Rinku (36*) unbeaten. The 16th over by Saleem gave away 22 runs, including two fours and a six. The 19th over bowled by Azmatullah yielded 22 runs for India, including two fours and a six by Rohit and a six by Rinku. Rohit brought up his 5th T20I century, most by a batter in the format. The final over by Karim Janat leaked 36 runs as Rohit smashed a four and two sixes and Rinku's three sixes came on the final three balls. India finished at 212/4, with Rohit (121* in 69 balls, with 11 fours and eight sixes) and Rinku (69* in 39 balls, with two fours and six sixes) unbeaten. Both combined to form a 190-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Faheem (3/20) was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan. (ANI)
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