WATCH: Rohit Sharma Furious at Shubman Gill After Getting Run-out For Duck on T20I Comeback

Rohit Sharma’s return to T20I cricket didn’t go as planned with the bat as he was dismissed for a duck in the series opener against Afghanistan. Rohit, who was playing a T20I after almost 14 months, was run out for nought after a poor communication in the middle with his opening partner Shubman Gill.

It was the second ball of India’s innings when Rohit played the ball on mid-off and ran straightaway to steal a single, meanwhile, Gill had his eyes set on the ball as he didn’t make any attempt to take the run. The poor communication resulted in Rohit’s dismissal as the Indian skipper left the pitch in frustration as he also shouted at Gill.

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Rohit was playing his first T20I after a span of 14 months as the last he played for India in the shortest format was the semifinal of 2022 T20 World Cup where they suffered a defeat to England.

Earlier, a lively 68-run partnership off 43 balls between the seasoned Mohammad Nabi and youthful Azmatullah Omarzai lifted Afghanistan to 158 for five after India dominated the powerplay in the first T20 here on Thursday.

A stroke-filled partnership between Nabi (42 off 27) and Omarzai (29 off 22) was just what Afghanistan needed after India reduced the visitors to 57 for three in 10 overs amid chilly conditions at the PCA Stadium.

Openers Rahamanullah Gurbaz (23 off 28) and skipper Ibrahim Zadran (25 off 22) could only find four boundaries in the powerplay.

Axar Patel was the pick of the bowlers for India as he claimed a couple of wickets for just 23 runs in his quota of four overs. Paceman Mukesh Kumar also claimed a couple but India leaked too many runs in the last few overs to he;p Afghanistan post a fighting total.

After the first innings, Axar talked about his spell and asserted that accuracy was key to his success.

“I wasn’t feeling the ball, it was very cold. We knew it was winter and would be cold, but I was only thinking about my bowling, how to put pressure on them. There was a lot of dew, but I focused on my accuracy,” Axar told broadcasters.