Three days after Ishan Kishan made a compelling case for his place in the XI, Yashasvi Jaiswal sent a reminder on Saturday night that he too is in the race with a fluent century. But not before Rohit Sharma, whose spot is under scrutiny, showed he is no pushover with a measured 79 off 69. All of it unfolded under the watch of the selectors, who will have a tough call when they meet to pick the squad for the England ODIs.
Courtesy a 170-run opening stand between Jaiswal and Rohit, India comfortably chased down Afghanistan’s 218, a total made possible largely by skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi’s maiden ODI century (102). It was an innings that rescued the visitors from a deep hole after Prasidh Krishna reduced them to 36/4 inside ten overs. On a Chepauk surface with considerable bounce, Prasidh hit the hard lengths well and the movement he generated troubled Afghanistan’s top order, with the top three all caught at first slip by Rohit.
More than the bowling, all eyes were on India’s top three. That the team management chose not to alter the opening combination revealed as much: this is a shootout stage, with possibly only two spots in the 15 between Rohit, Jaiswal and Ishan. With Ishan being a wicketkeeper who brings versatility to the batting order, his place appears all but sealed for the upcoming trips to England and Sri Lanka.