Harbhajan Singh consoles a youngster after the India vs Afghanistan game

India came mighty close to sealing a thrilling victory over Afghanistan on Tuesday in the ongoing Asia Cup, or rather Afghanistan came within touching distance of one of the greatest upsets in ODI cricket. However, the game was an inconsequential one as it would not determine who would progress in the tournament. India had already qualified for the final after having defeated Pakistan in their second Super 4s game. Meanwhile, Afghanistan were unlucky to have lost two very close games against Pakistan and Bangladesh, both of which went down to the final over.

The Men in Blue were playing without many of their players from the first-choice XI as they were rested ahead of the all-important final on Friday. India will play either of Bangladesh or Pakistan whoever wins the virtual semi-final to be played later today. Their star openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan didn’t feature in Tuesday’s encounter against Afghanistan. With Rohit resting, MS Dhoni took up captaincy duties and also achieved a personal milestone – he captained India for the 200th time in ODIs.

Shahzad and Rashid star in a thrilling tie

Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Meanwhile, India were happy to chase, but little did they know that Mohammad Shahzad would cash in on his final opportunity to play in this edition of the Asia Cup. Shahzad muscled his way to 124 off just 119 balls, powering Afghanistan to a total of 252 in the first innings.

India began the chase with KL Rahul and Ambati Rayudu, and their century stand meant the team was well on course for a comfortable victory. However, India slipped from 110 for 0 to 226 for 7, when panic set in. Afghanistan’s spinning sensation Rashid Khan had the responsibility of defending 6 runs in the final over. With a run to get off a ball, Ravindra Jadeja lost his wicket resulting in the match ending in a tie.

In the commentary box, Harbhajan Singh was watching the game with bated breath. When India failed to seal the win, he saw a young boy on television crying. He immediately took a photograph of the child and tweeted saying, “Koi na putt Rona Nahi hai final aapa jittange! (Don’t worry boy, don’t cry, we will win the final!)”

Koi na putt Rona Nahi hai final aapa jittange 🇮🇳🇮🇳😘 pic.twitter.com/fjI0DWeBoy

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) September 25, 2018

In case the boy did not know that India are already in the final, Harbhajan’s tweet will definitely bring a huge smile on the youngster’s face!

For all the latest cricket news and other updates follow CricTracker.