In the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup in 2018, India and Afghanistan played out a thrilling match at the Dubai Cricket Stadium, ending in a tie. The match remains to this day the only ODI that Afghanistan have not lost to India.
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That day is often fondly remembered for the last over, bowled by Rashid Khan. The star leg-spinner managed to defend 7 runs off the final over, dismissing Ravindra Jadeja off the penultimate delivery to seal the tie.
However, the result was set up by two players before that. Mohammad Nabi picked up the wickets of Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik after scoring 64 from number 7, while Afghan wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad smashed 124 from 116 balls, opening the batting.
When Dhoni asked Afghan cricketer to lose weight to get picked up by CSK! Former Afghanistan captain recalls hilarious conversation with India legend
Speaking to Times of India, then-Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan opened up on a conversation he had with his opposite number on the day, MS Dhoni. He said,
After the tied match, I had a long chat with MS Dhoni. He is a superb captain and god's gift to Indian cricket. He is a nice human being. We spoke about Mohammad Shahzad a lot.
I told Dhoni bhai that Shahzad is your big fan. Dhoni said Shahzad has got a big tummy and if he loses 20 kg, I will pick him in the IPL. But when Shahzad returned to Afghanistan after the series, he gained 5 more kg (laughs).
As it happens, Shahzad has never secured an IPL contract, but has represented Rangpur Riders and Chittagong Vikings in the Bangladesh Premier League. His most recent appearance for Afghanistan also came against India, at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in October 2023.
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