Tournament favourites India survived a nerve wracking, near upset at Southampton, going past a spirited Afghanistan by 11 runs, in a victory of experience over exuberance.
Choosing to bat first after winning the toss, India were expected & predicted far & wide to put up a total closer to 400 if not beyond - & why not with such a heavyweight & in form batting line up. However, the much vaunted batting faltered with Rohit Sharma getting out very cheaply & almost all batters, barring Capt Virat who got a fluent 67, struggled against the Afghani spin attack. Runs came at a trickle as the track slowed down, & when Virat got out in the 31st over with score reading a dismal 135 for 4, it was left upto Dhoni & Jhadav to consolidate at the centre. Both dug deep, but failed to step up the tempo & finally Dhoni was stumped in the 45th over, only for the second time in his long ODI career, attempting a rather frustrated pull. Jhadav completed his laborious fifty, as the rest of Indian batting crawled to 224 for 8 at the end of 50 overs - Having bled 397 runs to England in their last match, the spin dominating Afghan bowling had fared brilliantly in restricting the Men in Blue. Rahul & Shankar at the top had starts that they could not convert, & later Dhoni & Jhadav too fumbled after building a 57 run partnership. In all, despite a slow track to bat on, it was a poor batting display for a team known for their exploits against spin.
In reply, Afghanistan started tentatively, but resolutely & despite losing early wickets were well poised for an upset win at the end of 28 overs, with score reading 106 for 2, needing another 119 with required run rate at 5.40 per over. Its at this stage, that experience won over exuberance, as Bumrah, World's no 1 bowler, sniped the two settled batsmen at the crease, Rahmat Shah & Hashmatullah, for a maiden over & the score slid to 106 for 4, halting the Afghani momentum. Nabi then, partnered with Asghar, Zadran & Rashid in succession to take the score tantalisingly closer to target. Chahal scalped Zadran & Rashid in between to fray the batting nerves, as score read 193 for 7 after 46 overs, with 32 required of 24 deliveries & Nabi standing tall at the centre. A six off Bumrah in the next over, sent shivers down the spines of Indian supporters, but the bowlers held their line & nerves, as the match reached a razor's edge with 16 needed off the last over, & Nabi on strike with three wickets in hand. Nabi drilled Shami's first delivery for a boundary raising Afghani hopes, decided against running a single next, but failed to connect the 3rd ball better & lofted out to Pandya at long on bringing to an end an enterprising knock of 52 runs in just 55 deliveries. A charged Shami came up with successive searing yorkers to bowl out the remaining two tailenders & India had sneaked in their 50th World Cup win. Md Shami, playing his first match, replacing an injured Bhuvi, became the 2nd Indian after Chetan Sharma, & 10th bowler to achieve World Cup hattrick. The Indian bowlers had managed to squeeze in a victory, & avert a big upset. Bumrah, Shami & Chahal, were glorious in throttling the inexperienced Afghani batting.
This win will give India a world of confidence going into he next match against host England, while Afghanistan will run the missed opportunity of an upset - the learnings however, would make them stronger as an outfit.
Choosing to bat first after winning the toss, India were expected & predicted far & wide to put up a total closer to 400 if not beyond - & why not with such a heavyweight & in form batting line up. However, the much vaunted batting faltered with Rohit Sharma getting out very cheaply & almost all batters, barring Capt Virat who got a fluent 67, struggled against the Afghani spin attack. Runs came at a trickle as the track slowed down, & when Virat got out in the 31st over with score reading a dismal 135 for 4, it was left upto Dhoni & Jhadav to consolidate at the centre. Both dug deep, but failed to step up the tempo & finally Dhoni was stumped in the 45th over, only for the second time in his long ODI career, attempting a rather frustrated pull. Jhadav completed his laborious fifty, as the rest of Indian batting crawled to 224 for 8 at the end of 50 overs - Having bled 397 runs to England in their last match, the spin dominating Afghan bowling had fared brilliantly in restricting the Men in Blue. Rahul & Shankar at the top had starts that they could not convert, & later Dhoni & Jhadav too fumbled after building a 57 run partnership. In all, despite a slow track to bat on, it was a poor batting display for a team known for their exploits against spin.
In reply, Afghanistan started tentatively, but resolutely & despite losing early wickets were well poised for an upset win at the end of 28 overs, with score reading 106 for 2, needing another 119 with required run rate at 5.40 per over. Its at this stage, that experience won over exuberance, as Bumrah, World's no 1 bowler, sniped the two settled batsmen at the crease, Rahmat Shah & Hashmatullah, for a maiden over & the score slid to 106 for 4, halting the Afghani momentum. Nabi then, partnered with Asghar, Zadran & Rashid in succession to take the score tantalisingly closer to target. Chahal scalped Zadran & Rashid in between to fray the batting nerves, as score read 193 for 7 after 46 overs, with 32 required of 24 deliveries & Nabi standing tall at the centre. A six off Bumrah in the next over, sent shivers down the spines of Indian supporters, but the bowlers held their line & nerves, as the match reached a razor's edge with 16 needed off the last over, & Nabi on strike with three wickets in hand. Nabi drilled Shami's first delivery for a boundary raising Afghani hopes, decided against running a single next, but failed to connect the 3rd ball better & lofted out to Pandya at long on bringing to an end an enterprising knock of 52 runs in just 55 deliveries. A charged Shami came up with successive searing yorkers to bowl out the remaining two tailenders & India had sneaked in their 50th World Cup win. Md Shami, playing his first match, replacing an injured Bhuvi, became the 2nd Indian after Chetan Sharma, & 10th bowler to achieve World Cup hattrick. The Indian bowlers had managed to squeeze in a victory, & avert a big upset. Bumrah, Shami & Chahal, were glorious in throttling the inexperienced Afghani batting.
This win will give India a world of confidence going into he next match against host England, while Afghanistan will run the missed opportunity of an upset - the learnings however, would make them stronger as an outfit.
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