Match report
So India move to third place on 9 points, with New Zealand on 9 but playing West Indies now. England at fourth have to play India, England and Australia in their next three games. That’s enough for today – it’s been a lot of fun. Until next time.
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Kohli speaks on satisfaction with the win. “It’s right up there to be honest. You win the toss and bat and think you should make 300, then you see the nature of the pitch and think 260, 270. But you play a team like Afghanistan that has a lot of talent, and they make life difficult for you.
“I decided quickly that cross-batted shots weren’t on on this pitch. So I played with a straight bat and that worked. We lost a lot of wickets to the horizontal bat. But when you’re facing three wrist spinners on a pitch like this it’s tough, and I thought Nabi also bowled outstandingly.
“In the end the communication was to finish Bumrah off on 49, so Shami has enough runs to defend in the last over. All in all the bowling performance was outstanding. Shami was really good today, especially his first spell, he made the ball do more than anyone today. We selected a squad because we knew these guys were hungry, they wanted an opportunity.
“When things don’t go your way you have to fight, and show character, and I think that’s what we showed from this team.”
Gulbadin: “We played really well in the first innings, everybody knew we had a strong batting lineup, but credit goes to Bumrah, the way he bowled in the last few overs was superb.
“Spinners bowled really well according to the plans. We had another option, Rahmat Shah. India is a good side, credit goes to them. The total is not that much, but sometimes in the middle we need batsmen with a good score, like 80 or 100, not 30 or 40. Middle order batsmen should go longer and take responsibility.
“I’m telling everyone, the last four games we lose badly, but the last two games we played really well, so that’s a positive note for the team.”
Bumrah speaks to Pommie Mbangwa about their strategy. “Sometimes when you run behind wickets, you don’t get wickets. So we wanted to make sure we made the run rate high, create that pressure, and that will bring wickets.” It did.
India win by 11 runs
Two points for India as expected, but nothing else about this match went as expected. Afghanistan fall short, but in reality they made life hard for themselves by not taking a more focused approach earlier in their batting innings. It should never have come down to the last over.
But Afghanistan were sensational with the ball. They squeezed India all day with spin, gave very little away, and made sure none of the damaging Indian batsmen bar Kohli could go large or go quickly. They restricted India to 224 and gave themselves a chance. Six bowlers used, one to two wickets apiece, Mujeeb giving away 26 in ten overs, Nabi 33 in nine.
Even 224 was likely to be tough with such a mismatch between quality of bowling attack and quality of batting lineup. But the partnerships kept coming: Gulbadin with Rahmat, to Hashmatullah, to Nabi with Najibullah, to Rashid. They got close, but they still haven’t worked out how to pace a chase, and that starts with more confidence from the top.
Shami took 4-40 with his hat-trick at the end, Bumrah 2-39 from 10, Chahal 2-36 and Kuldeep 0-39, with Pandya relatively expensive for 51 but took two key wickets.
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Hat-trick! Mujeeb Ur Rahman b Shami 0 (Afghanistan all out 213)
Make that another famous World Cup 213! If anyone could hit two sixes in two balls it might as well have been Mujeeb, who can swing as hard as anyone. He does, but Shami is at the base of the stumps once again, and gets his reward. Three in three to win the match.
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WICKET! Aftab Alam b Shami 0 (Afghanistan 213-9)
On a hiding to nothing, the No 10 batsman walks out needing 12 off 3 balls, heaves and misses. Middle stump.
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WICKET! Nabi c Pandya b Shami 52 (Afghanistan 213-8)
That’s the match! Nabi wanted a six, he got the full ball to hit, but Shami just cramped him for room enough, in at his pads even though Nabi had backed away. Hit it well but not quite enough at this big ground, and long-on takes it inside the rope moving across.
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49.2 overs: Clouted out to deep midwicket, but Nabi says no to the single. Wants to finish this himself. 12 from 4.
Half century! Mohammad Nabi 52 from 53 balls
49.1 overs: Clouted down the ground for four! Low full toss, driven straight, and it’s 12 off 5 needed.
49th over: Afghanistan 209-7 (Nabi 48, Ikram 7) Yorker! Perfect from Bumrah, wide, and Nabi can’t get it past backward point. Advances this time, slaps the low full toss wide of long-off, gets back for two.
19 needed from 10 balls.
We’re getting a change in bats. Four bats being brought down the stairs. Bumrah doesn’t mind the wait. Nails another yorker, on middle, and Nabi drives for one.
18 from 9. Ikram slaps a low full toss straight to short midwicket on the bounce. Dot ball. Nabi gives him advice. Another perfect one, and Ikram backs away and gets it to point, for one.
17 from 7. Yorker! Perfection! 16 from the last over needed.
48th over: Afghanistan 204-7 (Nabi 44, Ikram 6) Well. The overturned review comes from the first ball, and a subsequent single is disallowed because the ball is dead once there’s a review. Nabi gets a single next ball, but Ikram is tied down for a couple, then fends a short ball into the ground, then gets a high bouncer that isn’t called as a wide. Finally he lines up the last ball, pulling it away for two.
Nabi gets strike for the next over. He needs 21 from 12.
“Ok seriously,” writes Sandile Xaso, “are the commentators of this World Cup not allowed to criticize India’s performance or their players? I know the ICC is no completely in thrall to the commercial king that is the BCCI but it’s getting a bit embarrassing. The game has been gripping and enjoyable though.”
It sure has. I doubt there are directives as such, but those who work a lot on India matches, there’s probably some element of knowing on which side your bread is buttered. It would be hard for there not to be any influence.
Given out! Reviewed! And overturned.
Nabi is given lbw. I think that’s hit him outside the line? He was striding forward at Shami and missed a swing across the line. No edge on it, says the technology.
And it’s outside the line! Overturned. Nabi survives.
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47th over: Afghanistan 201-7 (Nabi 43, Ikram 4) Should have been a run out! Ikram squeezed out a yorker and ran, panicked. Pandya at backward square had all the time in the world, with Nabi well short of his ground, but missed. And Nabi doesn’t miss the next one! Short, pulled, six! Up into the stands. The 200 comes up. They need 25 to win. Yorker from Bumrah, and Nabi can’t make contact. Then again, perfect, and Nabi can only dig. Last ball, needs a single. Gets it! Drives the wider one to deep point.
Breathe in. Breathe out. 24 from 18.
46th over: Afghanistan 193-7 (Nabi 36, Ikram 3) Rashid started the over with a fierce reverse sweep for four, then fell. Ikram Ali Khil is the Afghan keeper, and he gets going immediately by sweeping a brace and then a single.
They need 32 from 24, and they need Nabi on strike.
WICKET! Rashid Khan st Dhoni b Chahal 14 (Afghanistan 190-7)
Chahal gets through! That’s huge. Rashid Khan can hit big, and he’d just started to do so. But Dhoni is the best in the business at stumpings, and Chahal lured Rashid into a drive, then dipped the ball and turned it past him. Rashid didn’t advance but his back foot was dragged out, and that’s all it takes.
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45th over: Afghanistan 185-6 (Nabi 35, Rashid 10) What a shot! The TV commentators are already calling this an Indian win, which seems a bit premature when Nabi walks at Shami and drives him over extra cover for four to start the over. He jams a single, then Rashid plays a forehand down the ground for one. Shami is angry, so he bowls full pace now, short, and it’s a fierce bouncer that Nabi gets nowhere near as he tries to pull while walking across. Then tangled up trying to flick past fine leg, walking across again, and instead gets a leg bye off the thigh pad. He backs away instead from the last ball and smacks the cut shot. Jadhav in the deep doesn’t field it cleanly, but dives after the ricochet and pulls it back inches from the rope, but concedes a second run.
Nine from the over. 40 from 30.
“This game and yesterday’s feel like a return to proper old school ODI cricket,” writes Brian Withington. “Chasing 230 and struggling to keep up with the tricky run rate, never mind retaining wickets. Where’s Clive Radley when you need him?”
Who is the Afghan Geoff Marsh? The people want to know.
44th over: Afghanistan 176-6 (Nabi 30, Rashid 7) Here’s Bumrah, the man who could finish this off. Two length balls, where Rashid finds the field, then a slow yorker on leg stump squeezed for a single. Nabi hacks another to mid-on. Rashid backs away and slaps the short ball through cover, and there is one of those twos, with a quick turn and return. Then a walking pull shot, straight to Kohli at midwicket, and Nabi almost gets run out turning back to the non-striker’s end.
49 in 36 is the equation.
43rd over: Afghanistan 172-6 (Nabi 29, Rashid 4) Chahal gets away with an over there really. Twice Rashid Khan was cutting, but only got a couple of runs. Ditto his sweep shot. Boundaries were on offer once or twice there. Afghanistan are starting to need some, or at least to make ones into twos.
53 from 42.
42nd over: Afghanistan 169-6 (Nabi 29, Rashid 1) So it’s Rashid Khan ahead of the keeper. He made 27 from 11 against Australia – that would be very handy now. He starts with a single, then Nabi dabs a couple to fine third man. Four wickets in hand. 56 needed from the last eight overs.
WICKET! Najibullah c Chahal b Pandya 21 (Afghanistan 166-6)
There it goes! You just felt it was inevitable a wicket would fall. Not to anything amazing, but Pandya bowls a slower ball, Najibullah is trying to knock it away for one, but was through the shot early. Leading edge to midwicket, straight to Chahal this time. Now it’s tough for Afghanistan.
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41st over: Afghanistan 165-5 (Nabi 26, Najibullah 21) That helps! Shami bowls on the pads and Najibullah plays a lovely whip, away through midwicket. It slows up towards the rope but rolls into it eventually. It also helps Afghanistan when Shami follows with a wide, and then another. One batsman pulls a single, the other steers one, both right and left-hander succeeding when Shami stays back of a length. Najibullah almost pops up a catch to midwicket from the fifth ball, with Shami right-arm over the wicket and in at his ribs, drawing a leading edge from a fend. But Chahal was just too deep to charge in enough.
The equation tightens to 60 in 54. Can Afghanistan finish off a stunner? Will India’s bowling do the job? Bumrah has three overs left, which will be key.
40th over: Afghanistan 157-5 (Nabi 25, Najibullah 16) Pace at both ends with Pandya and Shami. The former has Nabi bolt for a single from a straight drive, then Najibullah calls for a fast second after chipping through the off-side. Good to see some urgency between the wickets, unlike earlier. Najibullah hits the same region for two more, better timed and along the ground this time, then cuts one. So the over yields six runs. They need 68 in 60.
39th over: Afghanistan 151-5 (Nabi 24, Najibullah 11) Shami is bowling superbly today. Tight on off stump, tough length, so even when Najibullah hits is crisply it’s straight to point. But mid-off is up inside the circle, so when Shami gets just a touch fuller, Najibullah rolls the dice. Stands up and drives off the back foot, over the top! Not smashed, but good enough to get him four. Placement spot on. And when Shami reverts to the short ball, it goes just fractionally off line and is called wide for a leg-side infringement. Najibullah flicks a single, Nabi drives one. Eight from the over. The equation is 74 in 66.
38th over: Afghanistan 143-5 (Nabi 22, Najibullah 6) Kuldeep carries on. Nabi takes a couple of singles. Najibullah wants to get moving, tries the reverse sweep again, misses out completely. Survives an appeal as well. They’re just not able to get enough away at the moment, Afghanistan. 83 needed off 72 now.
37th over: Afghanistan 140-5 (Nabi 20, Najibullah 5) Shami comes back and he is on the money immediately. Pace, in at off stump, and Nabi defends and tries to find where the ball has gone and realises it’s right at his feet, nearly squirming past his pad. Then Shami is bowling bouncers, sharp ones, forcing dot balls, forcing fends. One of them yields two runs. Three from the over.
36th over: Afghanistan 137-5 (Nabi 19, Najibullah 3) Kuldeep will bowl now, spin rather than pace. Najibullah Zadran is the new man in. Can bat. Nabi plays a little sweep for a couple, with the spin, then nudges one. Najibullah, left-hander facing left-armer, reverse-sweeps his first ball, striking it nicely for two. A couple more singles follow. They need 88 from 84.
WICKET! Asghar Afghan b Chahal 8 (Afghanistan 130-5)
35th over: Afghanistan 130-5 (Nabi 15) Last ball of the over, Chahal gets his man! Nabi had already boshed four through midwicket on the sweep to start the over. Asghar tried to end it by walloping the same way, but he only opens up the gate for Chahal to dart through and take the stumps.
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34th over: Afghanistan 125-4 (Asghar 8, Nabi 10) Four singles from Hardik Pandya, just knocked around or pushed straight, as the holding pattern is maintained.
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33rd over: Afghanistan 121-4 (Asghar 6, Nabi 8) Surely time for Shami rather than Pandya with the high chance of ropey shots against pace? Chahal bowls spin, and they only get two singles from five, the pressure building. But Chahal throws the last ball out wide and Nabi plays a calm shot rather than a huge swipe, slicing the cut shot along the ground behind point. Four runs.
104 needed from 102.
32nd over: Afghanistan 116-4 (Asghar 5, Nabi 4) Pandya again, kicking off with a wide. Asghar cuts a single, Nabi pulls a double. Then there’s a horror shot as Nabi tries to smash over cover, but that ball was never full enough for the stroke and it takes a huge outside edge. Loops high over backward point, but two fielders converge and the man running out puts off the man running in. Neither of them go for it, and it drops between them. Two runs and a massive slice of luck for Nabi.
“Any clues on why Kohli hasn’t been turning to Kedar Jadhav as extensively in the World Cup as he was in their tour of Australia and NZ?” asks Kanishk Srinivasan. “He’s unorthodox, but I feel like he could be a great go-to as a street smart, blink-and-you-miss-it bowler who has the goods to take key wickets every now and then.”
I’m guessing that the aforementioned tours were a chance to let Jadhav bowl a fair bit, as with Shankar, to see if he could handle it and to let him get settled in that role. Then he can be called upon if needed. But here today, pace has got the rewards, especially the short ball. Whereas the spinners have been handled, even if they haven’t been expensive.
31st over: Afghanistan 110-4 (Asghar 4, Nabi 0) Chahal is doing a fine job in the deep, belting around again at fine leg to tumble and save Asghar’s leg glance from Bumrah. Two runs. A short ball makes Asghar flinch, but he’s able to play it down into the pitch. Bumrah is getting up towards 150 kilometres per hour. But his yorker doesn’t get through Asghar, and his bouncer gets pulled for one. Still taking on the short ball.
115 needed from 114 balls. Here comes the tipping point.
30th over: Afghanistan 107-4 (Asghar 1, Nabi 0) Asghar Afghan, formerly Asghar Stanikzai, gets moving immediately, driving Pandya to deep cover for one. But Nabi wants to take his time, resisting the wide ball, defending the straight ball.
29th over: Afghanistan 106-4 (Asghar 0) Last ball of the over takes the second wicket, and Mohammad Nabi will be out next. So it’s a case of starting from scratch for him and Asghar Afghan. They need 118 from 126. Treat it as an easy T20 total with a couple of batsmen missing?
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WICKET! Hashmatullah c & b Bumrah 21 (Afghanistan 106-4)
Two in three balls! The batsmen crossed when Rahmat was out, so Bumrah has got both set batsmen in an over. Short and at the body, Rahmat was hopping as he played it, no control, and it just popped off the splice far enough for Bumrah to run forward in his follow-through and dive.
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WICKET! Rahmat Shah c Chahal b Bumrah 36 (Afghanistan 106-3)
There’s that breakthrough. Another half-hearted pull shot, another top edge. Another ball that might drop short, but Chahal charges in from the deep to take it diving forward. Now the heat will start to turn up for Afghanistan.
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28th over: Afghanistan 106-2 (Rahmat 36, Hashmatullah 21) Once again Hashmatullah can’t get spin bowling away. He top-edges Kuldeep for a lucky couple of runs, but swings and misses well outside off stump a couple of times. One of those might have been a wide as it turned away, left-arm wrist spinner to left-handed batsman, but it probably turned more after it passed the batsman.
27th over: Afghanistan 104-2 (Rahmat 36, Hashmatullah 19) Bumrah returns, with Kohli starting to need a wicket now. I still firmly believe he’ll get one soon, and Afghanistan will fall over. But dreams must live while they can. Kohli wrestles with the classic captain’s angst about whether to have a slip, and decides not to. So Rahmat deliberately edges through slip, hoping for four but third man is fine enough to keep it to one. Hashmatullah drives a single for Afghanistan’s hundred. Rahmat gets a tiny top edge to a slower ball but it falls short of Dhoni. Interesting whether they umpire would have given that if that catch had been taken. Rahmat takes a couple of runs next ball thanks to a misfield at backward point, then has two runs saved when he pulls to fine leg and Kuldeep dives well. Six from the over
26th over: Afghanistan 98-2 (Rahmat 31, Hashmatullah 18) This is better stuff from the batting pair. A couple of singles from Kuldeep to start the over, just keeping things moving. Then with the right and left handers swapping over, Kuldeep doesn’t get his line quite right and drops short. Rahmat has the composure to go back and pull, top shot, hitting hard and into the gap at midwicket. Two sweepers converge but it pings between them, the placement spot on.
127 to win from 144.
25th over: Afghanistan 91-2 (Rahmat 25, Hashmatullah 17) That’s the second time today that Dhoni has given it the big ones for a stumping appeal when the foot never left the crease. Hashmatullah was always safe. Strange stuff. This comes just after the batsman carves away a cut shot backward of point from Chahal, splitting the field for four.
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24th over: Afghanistan 87-2 (Rahmat 25, Hashmatullah 13) Lots of air for Kuldeep Yadav, he’ll keep challenging the batsmen all day long. They pick up three singles. Afghanistan need 138 from 156 balls, that gap narrowing for India all the time.
23rd over: Afghanistan 84-2 (Rahmat 24, Hashmatullah 11) That’s another shabby over from Afghanistan. Chahal lands his leg-breaks nicely, but Hashmatullah just blocks out four of them, no thought of angling the bat to find a run. Then when he finally whips a full ball to the deep, they stroll one run instead of hustling for two. You can’t afford more overs that go for one run.
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22nd over: Afghanistan 83-2 (Rahmat 24, Hashmatullah 10) Thank you very much, says Hashratullah, as Kuldeep Yadav bowls the kind of bad ball that will come along eventually. Dragged down short, and the batsman is good enough to rock back and smash it through midwicket for four. A few singles make it seven from the over. They need five per over and they’re still at less than four.
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21st over: Afghanistan 76-2 (Rahmat 23, Hashmatullah 4) Pandya is going full aggression. The field is mostly in, with men back on the hook. So Pandya keeps using that short ball, and no one can do anything with it. Finally, to end the over, he goes full. Somehow Rahmat Shah anticipates that, coming down the wicket and driving through cover for four! Glorious shot, into the gap beautifully.
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20th over: Afghanistan 71-2 (Rahmat 19, Hashmatullah 3) A couple of singles down the ground from Kuldeep, then Rahmat cuts the ball hard but Pandya at cover dives to stop it. At least some intent in that stroke. Rahmat settles for another single. Hashmatullah gets an inside edge onto his pad, misreading the turn, then sweeps a fuller ball for one. There’s your four from the over.
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19th over: Afghanistan 67-2 (Rahmat 17, Hashmatullah 1) Ouch! Pandya hits Hashmatullah in the ribs with the last ball of this over. The bowler got annoyed because the batsman bailed out before the ball was bowled. So Pandya went back and banged it in. It didn’t get up, but the batsman was expecting more height, and couldn’t protect his own body. That’s a maiden. This pair are playing into India’s hands, doing this. They have a long batting line-up today, but they have to score at a reasonable clip so there’s less pressure on whoever comes in next. Just four an over or so.
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18th over: Afghanistan 67-2 (Rahmat 17, Hashmatullah 1) The new batsman plays to type, blotting out an over of Kuldeep Yadav before working a single. His team now needs 158 from 192. They don’t want to let that climb up past a run a ball, they have to keep finding singles and moving things along.
Romeo emails in. “I don’t think it can be said often enough, but the last time these two sides played each other it was a tie. Genius experts on TV seem to tell Afghanistan how to play as if they were children. A lot of respect is required from commentators of all sorts, as is knowledge and understanding.”
Not just tying with India, but Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and ran Pakistan to the second-last over from memory, in that Asia Cup.
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17th over: Afghanistan 66-1 (Rahmat 17, Hashmatullah 0) The TV broadcast is showing Dwayne Leverock’s catch against India as part of a Great World Cup Moments kind of series, which is a particular irony given that the wealthiest boards in cricket have ensured that smaller teams never got the chance to play in this World Cup. Afghanistan barely had a team back in 2007, and here they are now.
Well, that was unnecessary from the captain Gulbadin. He and Rahmat were comfortably scoring with the glide to third man, the cut shot. They didn’t need anything big. Hashmatullah Shahidi is another sensible cautious type of batsman, and he could be just the one to combine with Rahmat Shah.
WICKET! Gulbadin Naib c Shankar b Pandya 27 (Afghanistan 64-2)
The short ball does it! Pandya comes back after taking some tap earlier, perhaps just to help the spinners swap ends, but he gets rewarded. Gulbadin can’t resist the pull but only gets a high top edge to deep square leg.
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16th over: Afghanistan 61-1 (Gulbadin 26, Rahmat 13) Same pattern, as Gulbadin gets an early single, and there’s a dot ball as Rahmat misses a sweep and Dhoni convinces the umpire to go upstairs and check a stumping. The back foot never moved. Rahmat finally gets off strike with a drive to long-off. With that man back, Gulbadin gets away with a mistimed loft that bounces in that direction for one more. Then a gorgeous delivery from Kuldeep to end the over – I think that was his wrong ‘un, and it zipped past the outside edge of the right-handed Gulbadin and so nearly takes the off stump. Drinks.
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15th over: Afghanistan 57-1 (Gulbadin 24, Rahmat 11) That’s a couple of times that Rahmat has missed out now. He’s getting marooned against these spinners, and even when Chahal bowls a filthy full toss to end this over, Rahmat smears it along the ground straight to mid-on. That after Gulbadin almost feathered a cut shot behind. One run from each of the last three overs, all to Gulbadin, and Rahmat has faced 13 scoreless deliveries.
168 needed from 35 overs.
14th over: Afghanistan 56-1 (Gulbadin 23, Rahmat 11) Double spin now. Kuldeep Yadav comes on with his left-arm wristies. Gulbadin goes after him immediately, dropping back to pull hard with the turn out to deep midwicket. One run to the boundary rider, and that’s all again as Rahmat takes his time against the new bowler, only advancing once but yorking himself on that occasion.
13th over: Afghanistan 55-1 (Gulbadin 22, Rahmat 11) Gulbadin looks much more comfortable now, driving a single first ball. Rahmat gets tied down by Chahal though, frustrated when he skips down to play a big cover drive but hits it straight to Kohli on the bounce. Kohli throws at the stumps and hits Rahat in the back, and the “Oh no!” expression on Kohli’s face is priceless. He apologises. Rohit Sharma comes up to pat the batsman on the bruise and make sure all is well. One run from the over.
A reminder that Sri Lanka made only 201 in Cardiff but bowled out Afghanistan for 152. This sort of total is not remotely a stroll, especially in these tricky conditions.
12th over: Afghanistan 54-1 (Gulbadin 21, Rahmat 11) Pandya is the weak link in the bowling, and here he goes. A dodgy single squeezed from Rahmat past the stumps, but then a clipped brace for Gulbadin, a thwacked four from a length ball, and a meaty pull for four again. Mid-on drops back, midwicket comes close. Gulbadin taps square to keep the strike. The fifty is up.
171 more required, at 4.5 an over. Afghanistan are scoring at... 4.5 an over.
11th over: Afghanistan 42-1 (Gulbadin 10, Rahmat 10) Shot! Rahmat leans back to Chahal and smacks him over midwicket! That man is inside the circle, and this pull shot cleared him easily. Long-on comes around to try to save, but his trailing foot is touching the rope. Again that was sloppy running from Afghanistan, they would only have got two if that had been saved, where it should have been three. Instead they get four. And then Rahmat skips down again, confidently, to drive a single from the leg-spinner. That part of his game I like a lot.
Jason, I’ve got another American cricket lover for you. You and Aaron can start a support group.
Oh great! Just an exceedingly rare American cricket fan. I keep hoping #USACricket will get their act together but until then I have IPL and the World Cup. I wish it got a little more love in the states.
— Aaron Rubinstein (@rubycube11) June 18, 2019
10th over: Afghanistan 37-1 (Gulbadin 10, Rahmat 5) Pandya comes on early as well, Kohli looking to get his all-rounder into the game. Rahmat plays the simple glide again, Gulbadin skews a ball towards midwicket but it bounces short. Pandya sees weakness and tries a bouncer, but it goes wild and clears Dhoni for four. Wides, not byes, so the keeper won’t be punished for that one. Then a couple more flicked behind square leg from Gulbadin – it should have been three but they were expecting it to make the boundary.
9th over: Afghanistan 29-1 (Gulbadin 8, Rahmat 4) Spin starts early. Yuzvendra Chahal’s leg-breaks to begin with. He’s not afraid to flight the ball immediately, and Rahmat Shah isn’t afraid to come down the pitch for a single immediately. One of three collected from the over.
8th over: Afghanistan 26-1 (Gulbadin 7, Rahmat 2) Immediately things look calmer with Rahmat Shah out there, as he just opens the face and runs a Bumrah delivery to third man for one. Gulbadin clips through midwicket from a fuller length and picks up three, then Rahmat is clipped on the back of his shoulder as he tries to duck a short ball that didn’t get up too high. Gets a leg bye for his trouble.
“Good day!” writes Jason Cammarata. “American cricket fan here (we exist, though I’ve yet to meet another who is native born) just expressing my thanks for your wonderful and witty coverage. My best friend is from Bangladesh, and I was lucky enough to be in Dhaka when the Tigers upended India in 2007. I can still smell the burning trash and fireworks from the street celebrations, which the caretaker government turned a blind eye to as they were giddy as the rest of us. Since then I’ve been under the game’s spell, and obviously rooting for the Tigers... and for Afghanistan to pull off a similar miracle today.”
7th over: Afghanistan 21-1 (Gulbadin 4, Rahmat 1) The ball before he gets out, Hazratullah just works a straight ball away to midwicket and comes back for a well-run two. The next, he shoots for the moon and like most such attempts, he misses. He’ll score more runs with the former method than the latter, and his team don’t need that many today. Very poor cricket. In comes Rahmat Shah, probably Afghanistan’s most accomplished long-innings type of batsman. He’s got a few hundreds in this format, and they need something near enough to that from him today.
WICKET! Hazratullah b Shami 10 (Afghanistan 20-1)
There it goes! It has looked inevitable since the start. Shami has been monstering Hazratullah outside off stump. So when he finally bowls straighter, Hazratullah goes for broke. He really only has one shot, which is over midwicket. And he tries that to the length ball, but Shami’s pace is too much. The batsman misses and loses his stumps. That’ll make the bails come off.
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6th over: Afghanistan 18-0 (Hazratullah 8, Gulbadin 4) Was that the dook? Half duck, half hook, as Gulbadin tries to bail out of his chosen shot halfway through Bumrah’s short ball. It takes a thick top edge and lobs back near the bowler, but not quite close enough. Gulbadin, spooked, has a huge swing at a full ball and misses it entirely, nearly losing his off stump. He also earlier in the over hit a full toss straight to midwicket and didn’t score. He started the tournament batting at No8 and perhaps he should have stayed there. But with Mohammad Shahzad sent home injured, Gulbadin has promoted himself to fill that spot.
Aditya writes in from Mumbai. “When the West Indies won the World T20 in 2016, the only game they lost all tournament was against Afghanistan. Also, the only game the Afghans won in the entire group stage was against West Indies, the eventual champions. Afghanistan beating India today is all we need to lift the cup. Surely history will repeat itself. Just saying.” It’s only logical.
5th over: Afghanistan 16-0 (Hazratullah 8, Gulbadin 2) Hazratullah gets off strike first ball to Shami, which is probably a relief for Afghanistan. Just nudges to leg. Gulbadin tries to hook a short ball but misses. He picks up two leg byes from a ball going well down leg. They’re unconvincing but they’re not out, these two, and that’s all that really matters for the time being. See out these dangerous overs.
4th over: Afghanistan 12-0 (Hazratullah 7, Gulbadin 1) The Afghan skipper Gulbadin gets off the mark by punching a single to cover. He might want to spare his young teammate the bowling though, because he’s almost getting out every ball now. Feeling for Bumrah outside off and missing. Feeling again and edging! Past slip! Kohli has two in, and that goes through third slip for four. Then another grope at thin air. And finally managing a mistimed punch to cover to get off strike, before Gulbadin is squared up from the last ball and nearly nicks. This is some exhibition of opening bowling in tandem.
3rd over: Afghanistan 6-0 (Hazratullah 2, Gulbadin 0) I don’t think this one-on-one is going to last long. Hazratullah aims another booming cut at Shami but misses. Then doesn’t even get the chance to play a shot, as Shami zings one off the seam that cuts away and keeps climbing from a decent length. Then fuller, hitting the pad to provoke that DRS review. But somehow Hazratullah survives the over. Kohli isn’t happy that they’ve lost that review, he had a long conversation with the umpire I think asking why it wasn’t umpire’s call as to where it pitched, with such a fine margin. Well, if it’s missing that zone, I guess it’s missing.
Review! India review a not out lbw against Hazratullah
Stand by. Shami wanted it desperately, he appealed backwards all the way down the pitch. Kohli asked the bowler, but knew bowlers aren’t objective. Dhoni gave supporting evidence so Kohli goes for it. And it’s missing the inside edge, hitting in front of middle, stone dead... except that Shami was over the wicket to a left-hander, and the ball pitched a couple of millimetres outside leg stump. Not out, and India lost their review.
Updated
2nd over: Afghanistan 6-0 (Hazratullah 2, Gulbadin 0) There’s a bonus! Bumrah bowls a beauty that cuts back in and saws Hazratullah in half. But it goes over the stumps, bounces in front of Dhoni, and the keeper can’t stop it rolling away for four byes. Bumrah follows with a low full toss, just missing the yorker, and Hazratullah squeezes it to backwards square for one run to the sweeper.
1st over: Afghanistan 1-0 (Hazratullah 1, Gulbadin 0) And those aren’t good early signs for Afghanistan. No ability to time the ball off this slow surface. Hazratullah is the trump card for the Afghans, if he can smash a quick fifty in the way he can, and get them a headstart on this chase so the others can grind out the rest. But it doesn’t look likely in the first over, as he swings and pokes and prods and misses Shami’s bowling about four times. Only makes contact when he fends a short ball, and when he reaches for a single to third man.
Hello all. Thanks Tim. I can’t believe I get the pleasure of logging Afghanistan’s glorious victory over India through the next few hours. Yeah, nah. It won’t be as easy at that. India have a sensational spin duo, and I suspect even this modest-seeming total will be a bridge too far for Afghanistan’s batting. But they’ve given themselves a chance, a great chance, and who can ask for more than that?
Direct your correspondence my way, please and thank-ya. Tim has a show to get to.
Over lunch, here’s a beef from Jonny Heyhoe. “Anyone else tired of the constant sycophancy towards India’s players by pretty much anyone on commentary?” he wonders. “Whenever I watch them there’s constant brown-nosing, everything is brilliant and no criticism is ever voiced. Dhoni has just clogged up an end, forward defence back to spinners with seven overs to go and ended with a strike rate of about fifty. Not a word against him. The Sky Sports commentary team would be shredding England for a performance like this. Barely a word either for the fantastic bowling by the Afghans.” I did hear some praise for the bowlers, but you’re right about Dhoni getting a pass. For the real story, you’ll just have to stick with the OBO. And with that, it’s over to the award-winning Geoff Lemon. Thanks for your company and here’s to a glorious win for Afghanistan.
Updated
India finish on 224-8
50th over: India 224-8 (Kuldeep 1, Bumrah 1) Gulbadin sticks with seam – I can almost hear him muttering “Told you so!” – and it pays off as his slower ball twice brings a wicket. In between, there are runs, but only five of them. So the two seamers end up with combined figures of 16-1-105-3, pricey but not toothless, and the four spinners with 34-0-117-5. All four of them bowled well on a surface that was deliciously slow and sticky, like a song by Marvin Gaye.
Among the batsmen, Virat Kohli was in a league of his own, not so much reading the conditions as transcending them. His 67 came off only 63 deliveries, whereas nobody else got near a run a ball. But he will be fretting a bit now, and asking himself how many part-time spinners he can rustle up as reinforcements for Kuldeep and Chahal. Leaving out Jadeja could prove expensive.
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Wicket!! Jadhav c sub (Noor Ali) b Gulbadin 52 (India 223-8)
Another one! Slower ball again, and Jadhav manages to hit it, but only straight to extra cover.
Wicket! Shami b Gulbadin 1 (India 222-7)
Well, Gulbadin is a seamer but this ball is a spinner – a slower ball that hits leg stump some time after Mohammad Shami goes for a big mow.
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49th over: India 219-6 (Jadhav 49, Shami 1) So well bowled Aftab, who goes for a respectable six off the over.
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Wicket!! Pandya c Ikram b Aftab 7 (India 217-6)
I take it all back. In a stroke of genius, Gulbadin tries seam at both ends. Aftab bowls a bouncer that would be a wide if Pandya wasn’t set on flicking it over the keeper. At last, we have a wicket falling to a seamer. And we’re down to that tail!
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48th over: India 213-5 (Jadhav 47, Pandya 4) Gulbadin seems to be a Brexit supporter: he sees something going abysmally and persists with it anyway. He brings himself back on, which is like Dominic Raab thinking he should be prime minister. His over goes for seven, not too bad, but worse than almost any over of spin today.
47th over: India 206-5 (Jadhav 43, Pandya 1) Rashid Khan’s final over brings a near-stumping, as Jadhav just gets his foot back in, and a near-LBW, as you’ve heard, and only one run. He finishes with 10-0-38-1, which is a triumph for him after his Eoin mauling, and also a nice example, like Morgan’s innings yesterday, of cricket being a great leveller.
Not out!
HawkEye says it was missing leg. Good review, initiated by Pandya.
Review! Jadhav given LBW
To Rashid Khan... clipping leg I reckon.
46th over: India 205-5 (Jadhav 43, Pandya 1) After seeing spin do the trick again, Gulbadin naturally goes back to seam. On comes Aftab and Jadhav celebrates by flicking him for four, then one-handing him for six, as Rashid, too, gets one hand to it, just inside the fence at long-on.
45th over: India 194-5 (Jadhav 32, Pandya 1) So, a big scalp for Rashid, and a rare dismissal for Dhoni – the first time he’s been stumped in eight years, apparently. The good news for India is that it gives Pandya time to pepper the crowd.
Wicket!! Dhoni st Ikram b Rashid 28 (India 192-5)
Dhoni goes! He finally loses patience, giving Rashid the charge. Ikram pulls off a crisp stumping and celebrates by windmilling his arm like Pete Townshend.
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44th over: India 192-4 (Dhoni 28, Jadhav 31) Mujeeb returns, and so does sobriety. And so Mujeeb, the youngest man in the tournament, the only one born this century, finishes with the quietly admirable figures of 10-0-26-1.
“Afternoon, Tim.” Afternoon, Phil Sawyer. “Morning de Lisle (41st over) sounds like a particularly fancy breakfast yoghurt. Or possibly an exotic dancer of young Robinson’s acquaintance.” This is a wild guess, but I’m not sure anyone ever said anything like that to Neville Cardus.
43rd over: India 190-4 (Dhoni 27, Jadhav 30) Noooo! Gulbadin brings back Aftab Alam, whose long hop is soon sitting up, begging to be hit. Jadhav helps it on its way and almost gets the first six of the day. Dhoni follows suit with a lofted cover drive. Eleven off the over. Still no sixes, but the partnership has passed fifty – 55 off 77 balls.
42nd over: India 179-4 (Dhoni 23, Jadhav 23) Gulbadin takes himself off, quite rightly, and brings back Mujeeb, who concedes only a single and a wide. As at the start, we are watching two different games at once here.
Here’s Peter Salmon. “Extremely envious of Matt Dony [34th over], as I’m sure we all are. I have the misfortune of sharing a name with a man who at one stage oversaw the commissioning of all BBC productions (he is the first million Google results, I’m on about page 256). As I work in the literary field, I am used to meeting writers who would pound across the room to meet me and make a pitch, only to gradually fade back into the crowd as I explained the truth. Got to the point where I ended up telling people I actually was that Peter Salmon. Got some great story ideas out of it. I wonder if our M Dony is ever tempted to do the same?”
41st over: India 177-4 (Dhoni 23, Jadhav 22) Only two off Rashid Khan’s over. This sticky wicket has nursed him back to form.
“Morning de Lisle, morning everybody (well, it’s morning here in Chicago),” says Josh Robinson. “I see from the fact that Lemon is slated to take over from you when you’re done that you’re once again avoiding being seen in the same place at the same time.”
40th over: India 175-4 (Dhoni 22, Jadhav 21) For most of his innings, Dhoni has been doing just what Gulbadin would like. Now Gulbadin returns the compliment by keeping himself on when he doesn’t need to. Dhoni cashes in with a pull for four, and Gulbadin’s spell has gone for 16 off two overs. Has he miscounted, or merely miscalculated?
Updated
39th over: India 166-4 (Dhoni 16, Jadhav 18) Back to spin as Rashid continues. Just the three singles off the over.
And there’s more from Brian Withington. “My head is spinning with the news that Abhijato Sensarma and OB Jato are one and the same,” he says. “Never mind Jane Austen, are we all characters in an OBO-centric holographic universe? Are you, Geoff Lemon and Rob Smyth truly ‘Guardians of the Universe’ – or all the same being?” Ha. You can decide for yourself later, when Geoff de Lemon takes over.
38th over: India 163-4 (Dhoni 14, Jadhav 17) Gulbadin only has to dish up one more over of seam, and he takes the curious decision to go for it now, with himself as the bowler. Dhoni seizes his chance, slamming the first ball for his first four. That feels horribly like a turning point.
Also coming back on: Brian Withington. “OB Jato’s rhetorical query at over 24 has got me thinking about predestination and mortality (again),” he writes. “Professor Brian Cox has a similar effect when describing entropy and the inevitable heat death of the universe. Please can you reassure us that there will always be an OBO inbox for Abhijato Sensarma (over 13) and other good souls to fill? And as I write that, Kohli is out - can I safely ignore my tax return now?”
37th over: India 156-4 (Dhoni 8, Jadhav 16) Back comes Rashid Khan as Gulbadin rotates his four slow men of the apocalypse. This is the 28th over of spin today, and Jadhav has had enough – after four dots, he pulls, savagely, for four. Rashid bounces back, taking the top edge with his googly, but it falls safely to the keeper’s left.
36th over: India 152-4 (Dhoni 8, Jadhav 12) Another testing over from Mujeeb, who even gets away with a wide by claiming a caught-behind, not given. If Afghanistan had a review left, they might be using it now. And that’s drinks, with Afghanistan on top, although the Indian wrist-spinners will be eyeing this pitch as if it was lunch at Lord’s.
Sunny Gill has been listening to TMS. “BBC commentary for the last 10 mins,” he reports, “seem to think Kuldeep Yadav is in bat not Kedar Jadhav!” The fools.
35th over: India 151-4 (Dhoni 8, Jadhav 11) Yet more singles – five of them, off Nabi. This would be boring if it wasn’t adding to the chances of Afghanistan stealing a win.
34th over: India 146-4 (Dhoni 6, Jadhav 8) Gulbadin turns back to Mujeeb, the master of the dot ball, and he delivers by going for just three singles. For the sake of the game, we need Dhoni to hit out or get out, so Hardik Pandya can come in.
Here’s Matt Dony, picking up on the Jato business (24th and 30th overs). “While we’re on the subject of people being related to people,” he murmurs, “can I just clear up that I am definitely not related to MS Dhoni. But I do enjoy hearing commentary of him doing well; I can feel vicariously successful. Hoping for the sake of the tournament he doesn’t do too well today, though.”
33rd over: India 143-4 (Dhoni 5, Jadhav 6) Nabi continues and goes for five as Jadhav shows some urgency. Dhoni has shown none at all: he has five off 20 balls. Sunil Gavaskar would approve.
32nd over: India 138-4 (Dhoni 4, Jadhav 2) Rahmat gets his leg-break to go like something from a gif involving Mike Gatting. It’s starting outside off, so it’s harmless. Off the last five overs, the kings of the world have managed 14-1.
31st over: India 136-4 (Dhoni 4, Jadhav 1) A moment to savour for Mohammad Nabi, who now has figures of 7-0-23-2. Princely. Two more wickets and they’re down to that long tail. It all hinges on Dhoni.
WICKET!! Kohli c Rahmat b Nabi 67 (India 135-4)
The big one! Nabi keeps plugging away and Kohli top-edges a cut to backward point, where Rahmat takes a fine catch, diving forward. Game on.
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30th over: India 133-3 (Kohli 66, Dhoni 3) Back comes Rahmat, who was just changing ends. Dhoni is stroking it into the covers, just like Kohli, except that Dhoni’s shots are going to the only man saving the single. India still not racing away with this: maybe that score predictor was right.
My question about Abhijato (24th over) has elicited a reply. “Ah, I am!” he exclaims, suddenly turning into a character from Jane Austen. “OB Jato is my pen-name, which helps people get around the frankly complicated pronunciation of my formal name in everyday life... It’s also easier to remember for people who follow my writing and/or musical endeavours on the Internet :)” Of course.
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29th over: India 128-3 (Kohli 62, Dhoni 2) Rahmat is taken off, unexpectedly, as Nabi returns and keeps it tight. The Afghanis are managing to keep Kohli off strike, which may be as close as they can get to frustrating him.
A good spot from Romeo. “That’s Rahmat’s 14th wicket in 67 ODIs.”
28th over: India 125-3 (Kohli 60, Dhoni 1) Rashid rushes through his over as Dhoni makes his usual scratchy start. Rashid has 5-0-26-0, which must be sheer bliss after the battering he took the other day.
27th over: India 124-3 (Kohli 59, Dhoni 1) So success for Rahmat, who straightened that one just enough. And here comes Old Man Dhoni, who could easily be putting his feet up now that India have two spare wicketkeepers on board. Gulbadin gives him a slip. Steve Waugh would have a slip, a gully, a short leg and a silly point.
Wicket! Shankar LBW b Rahmat 29 (India 122-3 )
Aleem Dar called it right – hitting leg stump. It’s not the big one, but it’s well worth having.
Updated
Review!
Shankar given LBW, sweeping. It looks straight...
26th over: India 122-2 (Kohli 58, Shankar 28) Just when the game is threatening to go to sleep, Kohli spots a long hop from Rashid and plays a pull with so much whip that you could serve it on a cone and charge £2.50 for it.
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25th over: India 115-2 (Kohli 53, Shankar 27) Shankar chips Rahmat over extra cover, inside-out, for his best shot of the day, and that’s another fifty partnership off 63 balls. A moment earlier, the score predictor was giving India 298. I’d say 330, for what it’s worth: eight or nine an over for the second half of the innings. Come on Gulbadin, conjure up a wicket.
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24th over: India 109-2 (Kohli 52, Shankar 22) Rashid continues, which means both batsmen can wear caps. A decent over ends with a googly that squeezes into Kohli’s pads.
“Death, taxes and a Virat Kohli masterclass,” says OB Jato, “the three things that are certain in life.” Is he by any chance related to our friend Abhijato?
23rd over: India 105-2 (Kohli 51, Shankar 19) Gulbadin takes himself off and turns to Rahmat Shah, so it’s leg-spin from both ends. He does have a slip, which is surely right, but Shankar seizes on a half-volley and gets four on the strength of a misfield in the deep.
Where’s Brian Withington when you need him? Right here. “As good hosts,” he writes, “England have done much to help the round-robin stage of this tournament by losing twice already, thereby somewhat alleviating the risk of the dreaded ‘dead rubber’ syndrome. Is it too much to ask that India, as the dominant force in world cricket, show similar consideration today; and perhaps when they play England, too? Just asking.”
22nd over: India 98-2 (Kohli 50, Shankar 13) Kohli, facing Rashid, cruises to fifty off 49 balls, with only four fours but several hard-run twos. It’s the 93rd time he has reached fifty in a one-day international, and the third in succession. What a champion he is.
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21st over: India 91-2 (Kohli 47, Shankar 10) The singles keep coming off Nabi. Gulbadin needs to make something happen.
20th over: India 86-2 (Kohli 44, Shankar 8) Gulbadin takes himself off and brings on Rashid Khan. He’s brave enough to toss his first ball up to Kohli, who is ruthless enough to cover-drive for four. Kick a man when he’s down, why don’t you? Rashid actually bowls a good first over, but his desperation shows in a very poor review.
Not out!
It was a good ball, but there was a big fat inside edge.
Review! For LBW against Shankar
It’s Rashid Khan, with his googly...
19th over: India 79-2 (Kohli 38, Shankar 7) Nabi continues, with not a single close fielder, when Afghanistan’s best hope has to be to keep on taking wickets. If it was stopping the runs, it might make sense, but the singles are flowing.
18th over: India 75-2 (Kohli 36, Shankar 5) Gulbadin tries a slower-ball bouncer against Kohli, who pulls and misses. Between them the bowlers have managed to push him into the middle lane. And that’s drinks, with Afghanistan narrowly on top, but India still threatening to go big.
In other cricket news, England’s women are playing West Indies. Here’s Raf Nicholson’s report.
17th over: India 73-2 (Kohli 35, Shankar 4) An over from Nabi that’s so frugal, it could have been Mujeeb himself.
And here’s John Starbuck, picking up on Abhijato’s point (13th over). “There used to be a case whereby a batsman could object to a substitute fielder in a ‘specialist’ position. Does this still happen? If so, how far does ‘specialist’ extend?” I don’t think it does, but I’m waiting to be corrected, probably by Romeo.
16th over: India 71-2 (Kohli 34, Shankar 3) More singles off Gulbadin, who will be quite happy to see Shankar nicking the strike off the last ball.
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15th over: India 66-2 (Kohli 32, Shankar 1) Well done Nabi, who has 2-0-6-1. He and Mujeeb, the two offies, have 2-24 between them, while the seamers have 0-44. In a perfect world, Rishabh Pant would now be striding out to join Kohli. In the real world, it’s Vijay Shankar, who came in against Pakistan to replace the injured Dhawan, and ended up replacing the injured Kumar.
Wicket!! Rahul c Hazratullah b Nabi 30 (India 64-2)
Well, it’s not the one they wanted, but it’ll do. Rahul suddenly pulls out the reverse sweep and gives the easiest of catches to backward point.
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14th over: India 64-1 (Rahul 30, Kohli 30) Gulbadin gets milked again, but doesn’t go for any fours.
13th over: India 59-1 (Rahul 26, Kohli 30) Mujeeb is taken off – well, he did concede a four – and replaced by another off-spinner, Nabi. He goes for three singles, and a wide, as the fifty partnership comes up off 51 balls.
If your inbox is ever feeling empty, there’s one person you can count on: Abhijato Sensarma. “If a player is injured,” he muses, “he does not come out to bat and his team sends out just ten men; it shouldn’t be too crazy, then, to suggest that the same team must field with ten fielders as well when the time comes! One possible counterargument to this is that bowling and batting are primary tasks, both of which become impossible to perform on injury, while fielding is a secondary element of the game, but the point persists. This year’s IPL as well as the ongoing World Cup has seen many substitute fielders do better than the ones they’ve replaced, giving the teams what could be perceived as an unfair advantage. Your thoughts on the matter?” A word to the wise, Abhijato: choose your battles.
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12th over: India 55-1 (Rahul 24, Kohli 29) Gulbadin gives up on slips altogether, which is modest (as he himself is the bowler) but surely too deferential. Kohli is finding it all too easy, motoring along at three runs every two balls, while Rahul and Sharma together have gone at one every two. So Afghanistan simply have to get Kohli out.
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11th over: India 49-1 (Rahul 22, Kohli 26) Mujeeb finally concedes a four, off his 36th ball, as he dishes up a full toss onto Kohli’s pads and the gift is gratefully accepted. Kohli has 26 off only 16 balls: anything Eoin can do...
10th over: India 41-1 (Rahul 20, Kohli 20) Does Kohli ever run out of motivation? He’s right in the mood now, getting way forward to cover-drive Gulbadin’s first ball for three. He has caught up with Rahul already, after facing just 12 balls, to Rahul’s 38. The powerplay ends with Afghanistan entitled to feel very pleased with themselves, while just ruing that fateful field change.
9th over: India 36-1 (Rahul 19, Kohli 16) Same old story: another over from Mujeeb goes for two singles.
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8th over: India 34-1 (Rahul 18, Kohli 15) Gulbadin is giving the batsmen singles to midwicket, perhaps in an attempt to get them LBW. Kohli just sees the gap and thinks “I’ll have two there”. Then he flicks Aftab for four and back-foot-drives him for four more. We have two completely different ballgames going on at the same time.
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7th over: India 20-1 (Rahul 17, Kohli 2) Mujeeb is still asking questions and commanding respect. He has figures of 4-0-8-1, which would be superb in any ODI, let alone a World Cup game against India.
6th over: India 18-1 (Rahul 16, Kohli 1) India, the grandest of all the cricket nations these days, reassert themselves as Rahul forces Aftab for four. Gulbadin blinks and tinkers with the field, moving first slip out, keeping second – and a regulation edge goes straight through the gap. Oh dear.
5th over: India 9-1 (Rahul 7, Kohli 1) So Afghanistan’s bowlers, far from being cowed by the battering they took from England, have bounced back and made a textbook start. Now they just need five more wickets to get down to India’s long tail.
Wicket! Sharma b Mujeeb 1 (India 7-1)
Beauty! Sharma, who never got going, is utterly bamboozled by Mujeeb’s carrom ball, which pitches on off stump, grips,d turns and takes out the off bail.
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4th over: India 7-0 (Rahul 6, Sharma 1) Aftab isn’t quick, around 82mph, but he’s busy and bustling and gets some lift. He keeps KL Rahul quiet and gets a maiden.
3rd over: India 7-0 (Rahul 6, Sharma 1) An even thriftier over and another moral victory for Mujeeb as Rahul plays a curious shot, a mistimed top-spin forehand that goes close to the man at short midwicket.
2nd over: India 6-0 (Rahul 5, Sharma 1) It’s seam at the other end in the shape of Aftab Alam. He’s wearing a headband, half red and half green, like a boy in the back yard saying “I’m McEnroe. And Viv Richards.” Three off the over again, with Rahul pushing into the covers for a couple.
1st over: India 3-0 (Rahul 2, Sharma 1) The new ball is taken by Mujeeb, the teenaged off-spinner who was Afghanistan’s best bowler against England. He makes a tidy start, conceding three singles and drawing a leading edge from Rohit Sharma. The pitch looks slow.
Teams
Just the one change for India, and that’s enforced, as Mohammad Shami comes in for the injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar. So there’s no Pant, unfortunately for the crowd, and India have a long tail. The Afghan bowlers’ job is to get down to it.
Gulbadin makes two changes, bringing back Hazratullah at the top of the order and Aftab at the bottom. Dawlat, the man who dropped Eoin Morgan on 28, pays the price, as if he hadn’t already. But it’ll be good to see Hazratullah, who is 21 (thanks for the correction, Romeo) and already on his second career. His first was as a security man, aged 15, working nights. He had internet access and used the time to study his favourite players.
India 1 Sharma, 2 Rahul, 3 Kohli (capt), 4 Shankar, 5 Dhoni (wkt), 6 Pandya, 7 Jadhav, 8 Kuldeep, 9 Shami, 10 Chahal, 11 Bumrah.
Afghanistan 1 Hazratullah, 2 Gulbadin (capt), 3 Rahmat, 4 Hashmatullah, 5 Afghan, 6 Nabi, 7 Najibullah, 8 Rashid, 9 Ikram (wkt), 10 Aftab, 11 Mujeeb.
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Toss: India bat first
Kohli wins the toss and chooses to bat. Gulbadin, still smiling, says he would have done the same.
Preamble
Morning everyone and welcome to what may well be the perfect mismatch. It’s the strongest team in the World Cup so far against the weakest. But the last time India met Afghanistan, in Dubai last September, the result was… a tie. On behalf of the neutrals, I’m putting in a request for another one of those.
A cup isn’t a proper cup without a few upsets. England have done their best as hosts to make the party go with a swing, by stumbling to defeat against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. But those two games are the only ones in which a team from the top four has lost to one of the other six. Today, for the sake of the tournament, West Indies need to beat New Zealand, who have a 100pc record when they get onto the field. The same is true of India, but the chances of Afghanistan springing a shock do look a bit remote.
For Virat Kohli, who missed the tie in Dubai, the question is whether to rest any of his big guns and give a World Cup debut to Rishabh Pant. Rest is hardly needed as India have only played three games so far, but England showed yesterday that it’s unwise to keep letting the same batsmen do all the work, because then, when you’re in a tight corner, the spare parts are liable to be rusty and brittle. Pant is a thrilling stroke-player who surely should have been in India’s squad in the first place. He has it in him to be this team’s Geoff Hurst.
For Afghanistan, it’s all about getting over their most recent experience, watching in disbelief as Eoin Morgan scored a century in sixes. “You’re only as good as your last match,” people are apt to say – and it’s nonsense. A firework display is often followed by a fizzle, and vice-versa. Morgan went from hero to zero yesterday; Rashid Khan, his main victim on Tuesday, left nursing a bruised ego and figures of 9-0-110-0, is easily good enough to make the same journey in the opposite direction.
The match is at Southampton, which tends to be a sporting surface with plenty of runs in it. Play starts at 10.30am BST, in about 35 minutes.
