Pybus: 'We made fundamental mistakes, we'll be reviewing that'

Pybus admits fundamental batting errors as India cruise past Afghanistan in 1st T20I

Afghanistan head coach Richard Pybus didn't mince words after his side lost the 1st T20I to India by 7 wkts in Delhi on Sept 13. India chased 157 in just 13.4 overs, finishing 38 balls short of needing all their overs.

The batting was the story. Afghanistan posted 156/8 but Pybus was blunt: "We made fundamental mistakes; we'll be reviewing that." He felt the total fell well short of what this squad should be setting. Not a skill issue—he called it an execution problem. "We've got to be a lot more precise in our fundamentals."

What went wrong with the bat. Afghanistan got battered early, losing 3 wkts inside the powerplay. Axar Patel was the villain, removing Gulbadin Naib in the 6th over and having Ibrahim Zadran run out off his bowling. The spin duo of Axar and Varun Chakravarthy pegged Afghanistan down to just 43 runs from 8 overs in the middle. Azmatullah Omarzai (64* off 44) and Mohammad Nabi put on 83 to salvage the innings, but it still wasn't enough.

India's dominance. Abhishek Sharma was the star—82 off 32 balls, Player of the Match. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shivam Dube added controlled support at an economy of 17. India reached 157/3 without breaking a sweat. Omarzai did take one crucial wicket in the chase—Sanju Samson.

Pybus's defense. He pointed to disrupted prep (rain here in Delhi) and this being their first outing in a while. "It's important for us to get into the rhythm of the series." He's banking on Afghanistan's spin battery, noting many are experienced in these conditions.

Bottom line: India look dangerous with that top-order fire. Afghanistan's got work to do on execution, but the spin stocks suggest this series isn't over. Series moves on—next T20I is the real test for both sides.

Source: Crictracker