Indian captain Rohit Sharma heaped praise on the men's cricket team for clinching a gold medal in the 19th Asian Games on Saturday.
The Indian men's cricket team won gold in their first Asian Games campaign after the final was called off due to persistent rain with Afghanistan having batted for 18.2 overs. The 'Men in Blue' secured gold considering their higher ranking, leaving Afghanistan to settle for the silver.
Ahead of India's World Cup campaign opener against Australia, Rohit congratulated the team during the pre-match press conference emphasized the importance of their victory and said, "I felt very nice, I just saw it being declared when I came in from the dressing room. I've never won a gold medal. But our team, the other team, has done it. So, I want to congratulate them. This is a big moment for our country. Winning a gold medal is a dream. We always used to watch on TV, gold medal. Today our cricketers, even women's team has won gold medal. So, salute."
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also congratulated the Indian team for their gold medal success and wrote in a post on X, "Double Gold Delight. The Indian Men's Cricket Team and the Indian Men's Kabaddi Team have both struck gold at the Asian Games. An incredible display of skill and determination. Congratulations to our champions."
Double Gold Delight. The Indian Men's Cricket Team and the Indian Men's Kabaddi Team have both struck gold at the Asian Games. An incredible display of skill and determination. Congratulations to our champions. 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/vskX9U3r9t
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 7, 2023
Coming to the match, Afghanistan were 112/5 in 18.2 overs when rain stopped the play.
Seamers Arshdeep Singh and Shivam Dube took a wicket each. Ravi Bishnoi and Shahbaz Ahmed were also among the wicket-takers.
Put to bat first, Afghanistan lost wickets quite early in the innings. Shivam Dube cleared up Zubaid Akbari with his length delivery in the second over. Arshdeep Singh dismissed Mohammad Shahzad in the next over.
Afghanistan lost another wicket in a bid to push up their total as Noor Ali Zadran was run out in the 4th over. Afghanistan found themselves 13/3 after 4 overs.
Afsar Zazai and Shahidullah tried to steer their team out of trouble but Ravi Bishnoi broke their partnership. Afsar made 15 off 20 balls.
Shahbaz Ahmed followed up quickly by taking another wicket as Afghanistan's batting set-up continued to crumble and fall apart. Shahbaz sent Karim Janat to the dugout in the 11th over.
Afghanistan had played 18.2 overs when the rain gods decided to intervene and did not allow a single delivery to be bowled after that.
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