Staff Reporter.
India kept their slim hopes of reaching the Men’s T20 World Cup semi-finals alive with a crushing 66-run win over Afghanistan.
Facing elimination if they lost a third successive game, India made a stunning statement as Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul shared a majestic opening stand of 140 in Abu Dhabi.
Rohit made 74 off 47 balls and Rahul 69 off 48, before Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya sustained the onslaught to carry India to 210-2, the highest score of the tournament.
Afghanistan never looked capable of chasing 211 and their ambition turned to limiting the severity of defeat to protect their superior net run-rate, which determines who progresses if multiple teams finish equal on the same points.
After slipping to 69-5 in the 12th over, Karim Janat and captain Mohammad Nabi, who scored 42 not out and 35 respectively, helped Afghanistan reach 144-7.
The margin of victory keeps India in a thrilling three-team race with Afghanistan and New Zealand for the second semi-final spot behind Group 2 leaders Pakistan.
New Zealand will go through if they beat Namibia and Afghanistan, regardless of other results.
But if the Black Caps lose either game, India – who face Scotland and Namibia – will qualify if they win both their games and overhaul Afghanistan and New Zealand’s run-rates.
India captain Virat Kohli: “We are looking in a very optimistic way at what lies ahead, and we will play this way for sure.
“We knew that we have some kind of chance and we have to focus on that chance instead of thinking of what’s gone bad. We are a positive side.
“T20 cricket is a very instinctive game. The top three is more or less set unless something happens like today when the guys batted brilliantly through to over 14 and then our power hitters played brilliantly. Sometimes it doesn’t come off but when it does, it shows how we can bat.”
Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi: “We wanted to bat second because of the dew and the wicket looked really good for batting.
“In the end there wasn’t that much dew, but India batted really well and put our bowlers under pressure. We didn’t rotate the strike well, we threw away our wickets and got under pressure.”