Shami
hat-trick engineers Afghanistan's World Cup exit
Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur
Rahman, Mohammad Nabi including part-timer Rahmat Shah spun a magical web
around the formidable Indian batting lineup to restrict India to a modest 224
for eight. Chasing the target, Rahmat and Hashmatullah Shahidi bravely negated
the Indian wrist spinners as Afghanistan stayed largely on the Sri Lankan track
hoping to pull off the second big upset of ICC World Cup 2019 on Saturday. But
just then came Jasprit Bumrah booming in as he managed to scalp back-to-back
wickets on the slowish Rose Bowl track which was followed by the thrilling
hat-trick from Mohammed Shami as India escaped with a narrow 11-run victory
from the jaws of defeat. While the win consolidated India's position in
the race to the semifinal stage, Afghanistan became the first team to get
knocked out of the contention.
Afghanistan, in their
short journey, have bagged quite a few laurels but none of those would have
been bigger, had they been able to sneak a win over India at the World Cup. At
the half-way mark, they had a more than manageable chase in front of them with
India managing just 224. In the end, India's bowlers saved the side the blushes
as they managed to squeeze in a narrow win with Jasprit Bumrah once again
proving to be the saviour. It was India's 50th World Cup win.
Afghanistan are the only side who haven't opened
their account in the 12th edition of the showpiece event. After playing six
matches in World Cup 2019, they haven't managed to bag a single win nor they
have been aided by rain. With three matches remaining, Afghanistan can maximum
attain six points which will still leave them behind Sri Lanka in the sixth
spot in the points table.
Afghanistan, in their short journey, have bagged quite a few
laurels but none of those would have been bigger, had they been able to sneak a
win over India at the World Cup. At the half-way mark, they had a more than
manageable chase in front of them with India managing just 224. In the end,
India's bowlers saved the side the blushes as they managed to squeeze in a
narrow win with Jasprit Bumrah once again proving to be the saviour. It was
India's 50th World Cup win.
Having bossed the game for 77 overs on the day, it all came
crashing down for Afghanistan in the 28th over of the chase. At the start of
the over, Afghanistan were 106 for 2, needing 118, with Rahmat Shah and
Hashmatullah Shahidi set and driving the chase. India were desperate, having
been frustrated by a slow-moving but definitive chase, and Virat Kohli was
forced to turn to Jasprit Bumrah. Shah was bounced out and Shahidi's
leading-edge landed with the bowler himself. At 106 for 4 in 29 overs, India
were again breathing easy.
Even when Afghanistan threatened to take the game away from
India, a collapse looked inevitable. And it just took one over for the
Afghanistan chase to come crashing down. With their hopes firmly pinned on
Mohammad Nabi and Asghar Afghan, Afghanistan were still firmly in the chase.
But Afghan's recklessness helped India surge ahead before Nabi and Najibullah
Zadran took the game deep.
Afghanistan's chase promised a lot even when the openers
struggled to get going. Hazratullah Zazai pushed and poked for 23 deliveries
before missing a pull and losing his stumps. Gulbadin Naib's gritty stay of 42
deliveries was ended by Hardik Pandya as the Afghanistan captain mistimed a
pull and was caught at square leg. Afghanistan had made a slow start - with 64
coming in the first 17 overs - but the pressure continuously mounted on the
Indian bowlers. And when Shah and Shahidi collaborated for their stand, it
seemed they would script a piece of history.
Najibullah Zadran's urgency propped up the chase as the
equation boiled down to 59 off 52. It was another crucial moment that
Afghanistan failed to seize. An off-cutter from Hardik Pandya was chipped to short
midwicket as Zadran fell for 21 to leave the side reeling at 166 for 6. Nabi
kept the chase alive with his half-century as Bumrah fired nine yorkers in his
last two overs to leave Shami 15 to defend. Nabi struck the first ball for a
boundary and then was caught at long-on to end any hopes of an Afghanistan win.
That, however, wasn't the end of the drama. After Nabi's
dismissal, Shami knocked over Aftab Alam and Mujeeb ur Rahman to bag the first
hat-trick of this tournament.
Soon after India opted to bat, it became pretty evident that
250 will be a par score on a sluggish track. Afghanistan's move to start with
Mujeeb worked brilliantly as Rohit Sharma saw the carrom ball spin past the
outside edge and knock over the off stump. KL Rahul and Kohli twinned for a
57-run stand but the former struggled for any sort of timing.
While Kohli motored away soon after walking in, Rahul's
frustration eventually consumed him as an ill-timed reverse sweep of Nabi
landed with short third man. With no pace at all from the track, Kohli played a
class above and managed to score at a strike rate of over 100. Kohli too made a
mistake as he tried to force the pace. Trying to cut a length ball outside off,
Kohli slashed and ended up lobbing the ball to short third man. Vijay Shankar
got in and then managed to throw his wicket away after 40 balls as he was
trapped in front by Rahmat Shah.
At 135 for 4 in the 31st over, Afghanistan had a superb
opportunity to keep India to around 200. MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav (52) took
their time and stitched a 57-run stand to stabilise the innings and lay the
platform for a late assault. The big flourish, though, never arrived as the
spinners kept tightening the noose. The Afghanistan pacers - Naib and Aftab
Alam - will have to shoulder a lot of the blame for their loss with the quicks
leaking 105 from 16 overs. The spinners, on the other hand, bowled 34 overs,
gave away just 120, and picked five.
Jadhav's late hits pushed the score past 220 but it was a
comprehensive performance from the Afghanistan spinners that gave the side a
realistic chance of producing the upset of the tournament.
Afghanistan, who has so far managed only one World Cup win since
their debut in 2015, will next face Bangladesh on June 23 before taking on
Pakistan (June 29) and West Indies (July 4), respectively.
"We played really well in
the first innings. The bowlers bowled really well. We know India have a strong
batting line-up. Bumrah was superb at the death - in the last two, three overs.
Spinners bowled according to the plan. Rashid, Mujeeb, Rahmat. Everyone bowled
well. In the end, it was a good game," said skipper Gulbadin Naib.
"We lost badly in the first
half of the tournament, but we have played some good cricket in the second half
and I am happy with the way the team has performed," he added.
Brief scores: India 224/8 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 67, Kedar Jadhav 52; Mohammad Nabi 2-33) beat
Afghanistan 213 in 49.5 overs (Mohammad Nabi 52; Mohammed Shami 4-40, Yuzvendra Chahal 2-36) by 11 runs.
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