Shami's last over hat-trick denies Afghanistan

India survived a major World Cup scare as they beat minnows Afghanistan by 11 runs thanks to Mohammed Shami's decisive hat-trick on Saturday.

Virat Kohli's side, one of the favourites to win the tournament, posted just 224-8 from their 50 overs.

Afghanistan, who had lost their previous five games, made a brave effort to chase down the target.

But they eventually fell just short of a stunning upset thanks to pace bowler Shami, who took the last three wickets in the space of three balls in the final over to move unbeaten India closer to the semi-finals. (AFP, Southampton)

 

Bumrah's double-strike brings India back

India quick Jasprit Bumrah did the trick as he struck twice in the same over to bring India back in the game against Afghanistan at The Rose Bowl in Southampton today.

Bumrah did not disappoint Virat Kohli after the skipper brought him back in the 27th over as he picked up two wickets in the 29th over to see India back in the game where they are defending a low total. He removed Rahmat Shah with a short delivery as the right-tried to hook it but ended up top edging it. Chahal took a diving catch coming from fine leg and Rahmat had to walk off after scoring 36. Bumrah then went on to scalp the wicket of Hashmatullah on 21 in the last delivery of the same over.      

 

India keep things tight initially

India bowlers kept things tight as they refused to give away easy runs while defending a below-par 224 for eight set by them earlier. 

Afghanistan lost only one wicket when Hazratullah Zazai saw his stumps rattled off a Mohammad Shami delivery while going for a wild slog over midwicket. The skipper Gulbadin Naib is now in the middle with Rahmat Shah at the other end. Afghanistan are now batting on 42 for the loss of one wicket after 11 overs. 

 

 

Afghanistan restrict India to 224 for eight

Afghanistan bowlers did a splendid job to restrict India to 224 for eight at The Rose Bowl in Southampton today. 

Afghanistan's disciplined bowling unit kept the pressure on the Indian batsmen throughout the innings and helped their side to restrict India to a below-par total. The spinners -- Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman -- alongside part timer Rahmat Shah got help from the slow track in Southampton today. Mujeeb was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan as he returned economical figures of one for 26 runs in 10 overs. This is India's lowest first innings total batting all 50 overs since 2010. 

 

 

Dhoni departs after fifty partnership with Jadhav

Just when things were looking bright for India as they were recovering after the departure of their skipper Virat Kohli through a 57-run stand between Dhoni and Jadhav, the wicket-keeper batsman Dhoni departs after scoring 28 off 52 balls as he gets stumped off a Rashid Khan delivery. Dhoni goes down the track to lift it over but misses the leg-break from Rashid and the keeper does the rest. This is only the second time that Dhoni has been stumped in ODIs.

 

Dhoni, Jadhav in fifty partnership after Kohli's departure

After losing skipper Virat Kohli in the 31st over, India were in a spot of bother. However, MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav had risen to the occasion and strung together a fifty-run stand for the fifth-wicket. The two batsmen are now looking more comfortable in the middle with their partnership reaching 55 off 84 balls. India are now batting on 192 for the loss of four wickets with Dhoni on 28 and Jadhav on 31 after 44 overs. 

 

India in spot of bother as Kohli departs

[WICKET] 30.3 Overs, IND 135/4,

A bit of extra bounce on a regulation off-break, that Kohli shaped to cut away. Got the upper edge and it scooped up for point inside the circle. Rahmat Shah dived foward and completed the catch. Well? If India wanted to find out how well they can ride out a rough situation, they've got one now!

V Kohli c Rahmat Shah b Mohammad Nabi 67 (63b 5x4 0x6) SR: 106.34

26.1 Overs, IND 122/3,

Stretched to a length ball, and gave out leg before! India reviewed this, though. Straightened after pitching around leg stump, there was no evidence of an inside edge either. Pitched in line, and impact in line, and umpire's call on the verdict. India retained the review, but Tabrez pulled off a massive jinx!

V Shankar lbw b Rahmat Shah 29 (41b 2x4 0x6) SR: 70.73

21.4 Overs, IND 96/2,

Third-straight half-century for Virat Kohli. Full, just outside off, and he drilled a straight drive to long on. Raised his bat, nothing too extravagant. The Indian batsmen have a task at hand

[WICKET] 14.2 Overs, IND 64/2,

The lack of patience proved to be Rahul's undoing. Pulled out the reverse sweep, but miscued it straight to short third man. Comfortable, low catch for Zazai, and India are two down inside the first 15 overs!

KL Rahul c Hazratullah Zazai b Mohammad Nabi 30 (53b 2x4 0x6) SR: 56.60 

10 Overs, IND 41/1,

Opener KL Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli play cautiously as they look to build a partnership. Afghanistan bowlers have bowled excellently to restrict the Indian batsmen to less than 45 runs in the first powerplay. 

KL Rahul 20 (38b)

Virat Kohli 20 (12b)

Gulbadin Naib 1-0-5-0

Mujeeb Ur Rahman 5-0-10-1

[WICKET] 4.2 Overs, IND 7/1, 

Clipped the top of off stump! Landed at length, on off stump, and Rohit prodded forward to defend the ball that drifted in. But the ball griped the deck, Rohit turned across, and it's through his defense! What a beautiful sight for Afghanistan fans. A rare failure for Rohit

RG Sharma b Mujeeb Ur Rahman 1 (10b 0x4 0x6) SR: 10.00

India won the toss and chose to bat first against Afghanistan at Southampton.

"Looks like a good, hard wicket," said Virat Kohli. "One forced change, Shami in for Bhuvi. The rest is same. Vijay Shankar brings a lot of balance, in the field he's as good as anyone in the world. There's a reason why he's in our squad. Whether we are playing a team that's strong or the team that's coming through the ranks, our mindset is the same. We don't take Afghanistan lightly, they are a dangerous side when they are on the groove."

"Good pitch so wanted to bat myself too. But it's a long day. Hazratullah and Aftab are in, Noor Ali Zadran and Dawlat Zadran are not playing. It was good we batted all 50 overs the other day." said  Afghanistan skipper Gulbadin Naib.

Playing XIs:

India: KL Rahul, RG Sharma, V Kohli*, V Shankar, MS Dhoni†, HH Pandya, KM Jadhav, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, YS Chahal, JJ Bumrah

Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Gulbadin Naib*, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Ikram Alikhil†, Rashid Khan, Aftab Alam, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

More to follow...