Chennai, June 20 (IANS) Fast bowler Prasidh Krishna’s maiden five‑wicket haul and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s fluent unbeaten century powered India to a commanding nine-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the third ODI and sealed a 3‑0 series sweep at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday.

Prasidh’s sensational figures of 5-23 in nine overs, including taking four scalps in the power-play with his pace, bounce, and swing, helped India bowl out Afghanistan for 218 in 44.2 overs, despite skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi hitting 102 – his first ODI century.

In reply, Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma, who hit 79, shared a 170-run opening partnership, with five of them being penalty runs. Jaiswal then marched forward to hit an unbeaten 110 off 86 balls, with his second ODI ton in three innings laced with 14 boundaries and three sixes, as India wrapped up the chase with 128 balls remaining. The win also meant India got its first series victory under Shubman Gill as ODI captain.

India began positively as Rohit and Jaiswal negotiated the early movement and found boundaries through crisp drives and cuts to reach 42 without loss at the end of the fifth over. Jaiswal pressed on the accelerator pedal by hitting a flurry of boundaries off Fareed Ahmad in the seventh over. More strike rotation and boundaries ensured that India reached 86 without loss at the end of the Power-play.

With Afghanistan not posing many questions, Jaiswal and Rohit continued to press, with the former reaching his fifty off 38 balls in the 11th over with a confident drive to long‑off. Rohit, too, found rhythm and brought up his own fifty off 47 balls in the 16th over.

Afghanistan introduced spinners Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi to stem the flow, but Rohit and Jaiswal rotated strike and punished loose balls, despite a mix-up almost ending in a run-out. Jaiswal’s timing and placement were particularly impressive, while Rohit provided the customary support at the other end after enduring a scratchy start.

Nabi struck in the 23rd over by removing Rohit for a well‑made 79 after he pulled to deep mid-wicket. It brought Shreyas Iyer to the crease, even as Jaiswal continued to dominate. With the required rate negligible, Jaiswal and Iyer rotated the strike and punished anything short.

Afghanistan’s bowlers toiled hard for breakthroughs, but fielding lapses and misfields cost them. As the finish loomed, Jaiswal shifted gears and got his century off 83 balls with a fantastic inside-out drive over extra cover off Nabi, before sweeping and lofting the final delivery over long‑on to end the chase in emphatic fashion.

Previously, Prasidh’s sharp new‑ball burst and a stubborn hundred from Hashmatullah Shahidi dominated the hot afternoon at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Put into bowling first by Afghanistan, Prasidh tore through the Afghanistan top order with raw pace, bounce, and late movement to collect four wickets for just six runs and later returned to dismiss Shahidi with a short, angled delivery that was pulled flat to deep mid-wicket to complete his maiden five‑for.

Afghanistan’s innings had threatened to end quickly after they slumped to 36/4, but Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai mounted a determined recovery. The pair added 105 runs for the fifth wicket, with Omarzai hitting an enterprising fifty off 56 balls before falling to Prince Yadav.

Shahidi, battling cramps and discomfort, dug in to compile a gritty 102 – a 128‑ball hundred that underlined his resolve even as physical issues hampered his running between the wickets. But Afghanistan’s lower order folded in a heap, losing five wickets for 20 runs as India applied pressure through a combination of sharp bowling and fielding.

Two run‑outs in quick succession, both effected by India captain Shubman Gill’s direct hits, hastened the collapse and swung momentum decisively back in India’s favour, who had another day of ruthless display in ODIs to clinch a clean sweep in the first bilateral series between the two teams.

Brief Scores: Afghanistan 218 in 44.2 overs (Hashmatullah Shahidi 102, Azmatullah Omarzai 50; Prasidh Krishna 5-23, Harsh Dubey 1-38) lost to India 224/1 in 28.4 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 110 not out, Rohit Sharma 79; Mohammad Nabi 1-47) by nine wickets

–IANS

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