India vs Afghanistan, 1st T20I at Mohali, IND v AFG, Jan 11 2024 - Match Result

That is all from us at ESPNcricinfo from this encounter. Thank you for joining us. See you on Sunday for the second T20I.

10.27pm Who is the Player of the Match? Of course it is Shivam Dube. Here he is: "I think it was really cold but I enjoyed playing on this ground. Playing after a long time....batting at No. 4 was a bit of pressure for me but I had one thing on my mind... that I had to play my style of cricket. From my style, I feel a bit of pressure first 2-3 balls but after that I think about the ball and don't think too much. I know I can hit big sixes in T20s, so I know I can get runs anyway. (Rohit chat post game) He said I played really well and that we'll chat to improve my game in upcoming games. (Bowling) Today I got the opportunity and executed what I had to."

10.21pmTime for the presentation.

Ibrahim Zadran, the losing captain: We were short 13-15 runs. We lost the toss too. But the boys fought well. We were trying to have a good powerplay start but we lost wickets then. One of us should've gone for 14-15 overs but we lost back to back wickets. When new batters came, we came under pressure. (Fielding effort) In the second innings there was dew and gripping of the ball was difficult. I can say that the boys tried really well. (Other areas of improvement) We will try to improve our fielding. We were quite lazy with the fielding today. We will try to improve batting as well. Bowling we have no issue. Will focus on what we did wrong today."

Rohit Sharma, the winning captain: It was extremely cold to be honest. Now I am okay. Obviously when the ball hits the tip of the finger it is a little sore. When the ball hit my fingers I couldn't feel my fingers. (Summary) Lot of positives, especially with the ball. Wasn't the easiest of conditions but our spinners bowled particularly well. (Angry after getting out) Honestly these things happen. When it happens you feel frustrated because you want to be out there and score runs for your team. Wanted Gill to carry on. He played a good innings but got out. Lot of positives - Shivam Dube, the way Jitesh batted, Tilak as well and obviously Rinku. (Next game?) Want to try a few things. Want to make the bowlers do a few different things. Like how Washy bowled the 19th today. Keeping those things in mind, we'll try to do different things. But not at the cost of winning."

Rinku: "Enjoying batting at this number. Making it a habit of staying not out. Enjoyed batting in the cold a lot. While fielding the ball was hurting and nobody could see much out there (laughs). I try to talk to myself, and tell myself that anything can happen when I bat at No. 6. In the last IPL, I spoke to Mahi bhai, and he said the more you remain calm the better it is. Try to see what the bowler is doing and react accordingly. If I think too much things can go wrong for me (laughs), so I see what the bowler is doing instead."

10.06pm A fairly comfortable win for India, as was expected since the target of 159 was below-par especially in Mohali.

A few early India wickets did make the game interesting, but in hindsight, that offered a great opportunity for India's thinktank to see what the likes of Tilak, Dube, Jitesh and Rinku could do. Dube finishes unbeaten on 60 to round off a memorable day that also saw him bowl a tidy spell of 2-0-9-1.

The game, though, was set up by the India bowlers. Axar's 2-23 was important since it broke partnerships, and Mukesh's 2-33 helped stop Afghanistan from going big at the death by dismissing Omarzai and Nabi.

For Afghanistan, they'd feel with five wickets in hand left after 20 overs, they simply did not utilise the batting conditions well enough. They missed someone of Rashid's quality after the three early wickets that India lost. Mujeeb, Nabi and Omarzai their most impressive players tonight.

Elsewhere, with the Pro Kabaddi League at the midway point of the season, it's time to hand out grades to each franchise. Which team scored an A+ and could Telugu Titans be anything other than an F? Find out here .

Padmaraj : "Think Pant doesnt have a great record inT20s compared to other formats." -- you're right about that.

Shankar : "@Mani, It is an aberration that built based on his ODI exploits. Rohit's SR is close to 110 in last T20 WC and less than 130 in last 3. He scored at less than 100 in the semis which we lost. He past his prime in T20s. "

India need 19 off 24. The management would like to see how these two get these 19 runs. Do they finish it off in 18? Or do they do it Dhoni-style in the 20th over?

Deep: "I feel, Jitesh, Samson, Ishan, they all are just here because Pant is not. once he is back, these guys become backups. What a player Pant is man."

Mani Babar: "Shankar, that is one of the worst ideas I have ever heard, respectfully. Rohit is one of, if not the best striker in the powerplay, and even if he falls, he always scores at a quick rate so as to put India in a good spot. He deserves a spot in the team"

Vijay: "Gill is technically sound. The first 10 months of 2023 were his but he would like to forget the last 2."

Shankar : "Virat deserves place in T20 team purely based on his performances in world cups. But I don't think Rohit deserves place in this team. Gill and Yashaswi should be the opening pair. Trust me, it will be the devastating opening combo of WC. "