India 224 for 8 (Kohli 67, Jadhav 52, Nabi 2-33) beat Afghanistan 213 (Nabi 52, Shami 4-40) by 11 runs
Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi sent India on a tailspin and threatened a Sri Lanka-style comeback as a second successive upset loomed large in the World Cup. Afghanistan’s spinners, including part-timer Rahmat Shah, claimed combined figures of 34-0-119-5, but Rahmat and Hashmatullah Shahidi were resolutely playing out India’s wristspinners in a chase of 225. But then, Jasprit Bumrah returned and bounced out both batsmen on a slower-than-usual Hampshire Bowl track to crack the game open.
Afghanistan were 106 for 4 by this point and the asking rate shot past six. Nabi followed his boundary-less spell of 9-0-33-2 with a fearless assault – 52 off 55 balls – but Bumrah and Mohammed Shami ensured India avoided a potential banana peel and remained unbeaten in the tournament. It was Shami who secured the victory for India with a hat-trick, which began with the prized scalp of Nabi and ended with a whirring yorker that demolished the stumps of No.11 Mujeeb.
Full report to follow