(Cricket news) India defeated Afghanistan by 101 runs in the final Asia Cup game. KL Rahul led the side as Rohit Sharma along with Hardik Pandyaa and Yuzvendra Chahal were rested for the match. Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi won the toss and elected to bowl first. Both the teams were out of the tournament and the match was just a consolidation in the end. It was a good result for India to end the disappointing tournament on a high. Their two senior players Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were the stars of the night.

In absence of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul opened the batting. The pair got India off to a flying start with a partnership of 119 runs. Rahul showed his class with a 41 ball 62 as he sent out a message that he is still the same player he was before the injury. Virat Kohli was on absolute fire as he smashed 122 off just 61 balls at a strike rate of 200. The century was his first in T20I cricket and 71st in international cricket which took level with Ricky Ponting and only Sachin Tendulkar to beat. Any doubts over Kohli's form and his place in the side have been removed as he is the highest scorer of the Asia Cup even though Mohammad Rizwan is likely to overtake him with 3 games remaining. India finished their innings on 212 for 2. Afghanistan looked exhausted as the close loss against Pakistan must have taken a toll on them. The bowling was way off the mark while the fielding also let them down.

Chasing 213, Afghanistan never looked up for it. Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a spell of 4 overs on the trott and picked up 5/4. After a couple of difficult games the veteran bounced back and produced an incredible swing. Arshdeep Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin and Deepak Hooda also chipped in with 2 wickets as Afghanistan fell 101 runs short. Even though India comfortably won the match, it shouldn't distract the management that it has been a pretty disappointing tournament. The management kept on saying that it is a good learning experience which is not what an Asia Cup is for as they needed to win this tournament. The men in blue now have 3 T20Is each against South Africa and Australia before the T20 World Cup.

Also read: No place for hooliganism in cricket, says angry PCB chief