With India already through to the final of Asia Cup, skipper Rohit Sharma decided to sit out from the Super Four dead rubber clash against Afghanistan on Tuesday. In Sharma’s absence, former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni took over the captaincy duties for the Men in Blue. The wicketkeeper-batsman, who is known for his cool and calm demeanour on the field, showed his “angry” side on the field when he snapped at Kuldeep Yadav during Afghanistan’s innings.
In the middle of the match, the chinaman asked MS Dhoni for a field change in his over. But despite repeated instances from the 23-year-old, the skipper refused to make the alterations and asked Yadav to carry on with his bowling. When Yadav continued to argue, Dhoni snapped back at the bowler and said – “Bowling karega ya bowler change karein? (Will you bowl or should we change the bowler?).” Hearing Dhoni’s words, Kuldeep immediately went silent and stepped back to carry on the attack.
Kuldeep finished with figures of 38/2 in his quota of 10 overs as Mohammad Shahzad’s blistering ton and Mohammad Nabi’s explosive fifty took Afghanistan to 252/8 in 50 overs. Chasing the total, India lost their way after the 110-run opening stand between Ambati Rayudu and KL Rahul. With Rashid Khan dismissing Ravindra Jadeja in the final over, India were bowled out for 252, ending the match in a tie.
