India and Afghanistan played their third and final game of the 3-match T20I series at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday (January 17). Team India skipper continued to keep his toss record as he won a third one in a row and elected to bat first against Afghanistan. India made three changes from their last game dropping Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma and Arshdeep.
When the Men in Blue skipper announced their replacements which included Sanju Samson, Avesh Khan and Kuldeep Yadav the crowd went crazy after hearing that the Rajasthan Royals captain is playing the final game of the series. (‘Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli Are Going For The T20 World Cup 2024,’ Says Former India Cricketer Partiv Patel)
Watch the video here:
Crowd shouting for Sanju Samson after Rohit Sharma take his name #sanjusamson #ViratKohli #RohitSharma #RajasthanRoyals #INDvsAFG #JioCinema pic.twitter.com/lwFg2kTUZl
— Ishant (@Ishantpatil_) January 17, 2024
In the series, Jitesh hammered 31 off 20 deliveries in the first T20I but failed to open his account in the second game.
Along with Jitesh, Shivam Dube has emerged as another stand-out player for the Indian team in the absence of first-choice all-rounder Hardik Pandya. The likes of Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh are also capable of playing in the middle order, Chopra feels that Tilak should not replace any batter.
“Shivam Dube has been the find of the series so far, so he will play at No. 4 for sure. So can Tilak Varma be played here? In place of whom, because Rinku Singh gets limited opportunities, in terms of, not the games, but the amount he gets to bat. So he also needs to play,” Chopra said.
India have already clinched the series by gaining an unassailable 2-0 lead over Afghanistan. Both teams will face each other at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.