India thump Afghanistan to kick off T20 World Cup Super Eight with a win

BRIDGETOWN: Suryakumar Yadav’s blistering half-century, followed by a combined bowling display led India to a comfortable 47-run victory over Afghanistan in the 43rd match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 here on Thursday.

Chasing a daunting 182-run total, Afghanistan’s batting unit unfolded on just 134 on the final delivery of the innings.

Afghanistan got off to a dismal start to the pursuit as they lost three wickets upfront with just 23 runs on the board in 4.1 overs.

Following the early slump, Gulbadin Naib partnered with Azmatullah Omarzai in a bid to launch recovery.

The duo added 44 runs for the fourth wicket but both perished in successive overs as Afghanistan slipped to 71/5 in 11.1 overs.

Gulbadin Naib scored 17 off 21 balls, hitting two boundaries including a six while Omarzai remained the top-scorer for Afghanistan with 20-ball 26 which included two fours and a six.

Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi stitched a resilient sixth-wicket partnership with Najibullah Zadran.

Their sixth-wicket stand yielded 31 runs and lasted with Zadran’s dismissal in the 16th over after scoring 19 off 17.

Nabi followed him back to the dugout in the next over after scoring a run-a-ball 14.

Afghanistan’s batting tail then crumbled against India’s dominant bowling attack despite Noor Ahmad’s valiant 12.

Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh led the bowling charge for India with three wickets each, followed by Kuldeep Yadav, who bagged two while Ravindra Jadeja chipped in with a wicket.

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Sent into bat first, India registered 181/8 on the scoreboard, courtesy of Yadav’s brisk half-century, followed by Hardik Pandya’s blitz.

India, however, had a shaky start to their innings as captain Rohit Sharma (8) fell victim to Fazalhaq Farooqi in the third over with just 11 runs on the board.

Virat Kohli then joined forces with Rishabh Pant and together they raised 43 runs until the latter perished on the last delivery of the seventh over.

Pant was the core aggressor of the stand, scoring a brisk 20 off 11 deliveries, while Kohli anchored through before perishing in the ninth over. He scored a run-a-ball 24.

Top-ranked T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav then took the reigns of India’s batting charge.

He put together a brief partnership with Shivam Dube, who could score 10 off seven deliveries, before finding subtle support at the other end in the form of Hardik Pandya.

Yadav and Pandya turned the tide in India’s favour with a quickfire 60-run partnership.

India’s crucial fifth-wicket stand lasted in the 17th over when Farooqi outclassed Yadav with a leg-cutter to provide a much-needed breakthrough to Afghanistan.

Suryakumar Yadav remained the top-scorer for India with a 28-ball 53 which featured five fours and three sixes.

India then sustained another massive blow to their batting expedition when set batter Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja perished in the same over, bringing the total down to 165/7 in 18.4 overs.

Pandya remained a notable run-getter for India with 32 off 24 deliveries, laced up with three fours and two sixes.

Later, Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh made notable contribution to India’s total with a 16-run stand which lasted with the former’s run out on the final delivery.

Patel scored 12 off six deliveries while Singh made two not out.

Fazalhaq Farooqi, the leading wicket-taker of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024, and Rashid Khan bagged three wickets each for Afghanistan while Naveen-ul-Haq took one.

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