Yadav's quick 50 sets up India for comfortable win
Suryakumar Yadav cracked a 28-ball 53 to set India up for a convincing 47-run win over Afghanistan in their opening Super Eights match at the T20 World Cup.
Yadav hit five fours and three sixes and shared in a crucial fifth-wicket partnership of 60 with Hardik Pandya as India posted 181 for eight at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. Afghanistan’s reply never recovered from the loss of three wickets inside the first five overs and they ultimately fell well short, bowled out for 134, as the impressive Jasprit Bumrah claimed three for seven.
India had made a sluggish start with Rashid Khan (three for 26) instrumental as they slipped to 90 for four. Rishabh Pant (20) and Virat Kohli (24) were among the leg-spinner’s victims after Fazalhaq Farooqi (three for 33) had claimed the early scalp of captain Rohit Sharma. The situation changed as Yadav and Pandya (32 from 24 balls) came together before Axar Patel’s quick 12 further bolstered the total.
Afghanistan struggled in response, particularly against Bumrah, and were always struggling after being reduced to 23 for three.Azmatullah Omarzai hit a battling 26 and Najibullah Zadran scored 19, but the outcome was determined long before the finish as Arshdeep Singh (two for 34) and Kuldeep Yadav (two for 32) also shone. PA Media
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The Super Eights come thick and fast – tomorrow Australia take on Bangladesh in the early game, and England return to the Daren Sammy Stadium to battle South Africa at 3.30BST.
We’ll leave India to relish their glory. Thank you for your messages as ever, and have a nice evening, football scores and other things notwitstanding.
A win without breaking sweat for India, but bad news for Afghanistan who take a dodgy run-rate with them into games against Bangaldesh and Australia.
The television switches to the Roses T20 game, but I can tell you that Suryakumar Yadav is the player of the match for his eye-popping fifty, though Bumrah must have run him close with three for seven.
WICKET! Noor c Rohit b Arshdeep 12 (Afghanistan 134 all out) India beat Afghanistan by 47 runs!
20th over: Afghanistan 134-10 ( Fazalhaq 4) A succession of swings, a succession of misses, until at last Noor makes contact, swinging Arshdeep over deep square leg for six. The final ball lasts for three deliveries as Arshdeep sends down two successive wides, and Noor is caught off the final ball of the match, going down flaying.
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19th over: Afghanistan 126-9 ( Noor 6, Fazalhaq 4) One run from Bumrah’s last and the penultimate of the match. Jonathan Trott writes something in a ledger on the Afghanistan desk. Bumrah brilliance: 4-1-7-3.
18th over: Afghanistan 125-9 ( Noor 6, Fazalhaq 4) Arshdeep returns for the last rites, hand recovered from taking that catch. Rohit jogs up to him to proffer some advice – whatever it was it works. Two in two with the hat-trick ball edging between keeper and slip and tottering over the rope.
WICKET! Naveen c Pant b Arshdeep 0 (Afghanistan 121-9)
Arshdeep on a hat-trick after Naveen slogs for glory fun, gets a top edge and Pant collects another catch.
WICKET! Rashid Khan c Jadeja b Arshdeep 2 (Afghanistan 121-8)
Rashid Khan has a wild throw of the bat, touch of the helicopter, and is caught in the deep
17th over: Afghanistan 119-7 ( Rashid 2, Noor 5) Kuldeep coming in for some late tap as Noor reverse slaps his first ball for four. (Kuldeep 4-0-32-2)
WICKET! Nabi c Jadeja b Kuldeep 14 (Afghanistan 114-7)
Nabi throws the bat aiming for a second consecutive six off Kuldeep, but into the wind and Jadeja is waiting with gentle hands.
16th over: Afghanistan 107-6 ( Nabi 8, Rashid 1) Afghanistan gratefully receive four byes. Rashid Khan throws the bat but can’t get his teeth into Bumrah.
WICKET! Najibullah c Arshdeep b Bumrah 19 (Afghanistan 102-6)
Bumrah comes back and immediately strikes, of course he does. Arshdeep wrings his left hand after taking a stinger.
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15th over: Afghanistan 101-5 ( Najibullah 19, Nabi 7) Crack! Najibullah swings like an enthusiastic dad at the swing ball: six. Hardik squeezes his mouth into a moue. A wide follows. An lbw appeal, Rohit is talked into taking a review – seems unlikely – and indeed it has pitched outside leg.
14th over: Afghanistan 91-5 ( Najibullah 13, Nabi 6) Jadeja, making a thick headband cool. Afghanistan ticking along, but falling behind.
I have learnt so many things doing the OBO – over to Sandip. “A swipe would be when you use a digital keyboard, such as those available on tablets or mobiles. I found out from my niece that it is using one finger, as compared to the usual two thumb technique. For instance, your name is a two triangle trace. ‘Tanya using swipe’ however turned out to be Tanya using swoop. o well.
“No matter which technique, you and your colleagues bring the whole world together!
“Yesterday’s women’s ODI in the Subcontinent was a cracker, with four players cracking tons! We followed that match on another commentary.”
13th over: Afghanistan 84-5 ( Najibullah 9, Nabi 3) Dots, two singles, a wide and six by Najibullah, hauled over the legside.
12th over: Afghanistan 75-5 ( Najibullah 2, Nabi 2) Jadeja with his first wicket. On comms they wonder whether Afghanistan will start to play for run-rater rather than self-implode chasing an increasingly impossible target.
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WICKET! Omarzai c Axar b Jadeja 26(Afghanistan 71-5)
Jadeja with the two fisted pump as Onarzai tries to send him up and away, but can only toe end it into the blue and the waiting Axar at long on.
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11th over: Afghanistan 71-4 ( Omarzai 26, Zadran 0) Four leg byes after Zadran gropes at a googly, and it escapes Pant too.
WICKET! Gulbadin c Pant b Kuldeep 17 (Afghanistan 67-4)
A breakthrough after drinks as Gulbadin skies the googly and Pant shouts for it, takes it.
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10th over: Afghanistan 66-3 ( Gulbadin 17, Omarzai 25) Jadeja, be-shaded, untucked. Omarzai slams him , with a carefree shrug, into the stands. They take drinks, with Afghanistan well behind the rate, but not out of sight.
9th over: Afghanistan 57-3 ( Gulbadin 16, Omarzai 17) Kuldeep in his first tournament appearance, opens his account with a no ball. Gulbadin crashes four off the free hit. Singles pocketed from the rest.
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8th over: Afghanistan 47-3 ( Gulbadin 10, Omarzai 14) Intrigue as the third umpire has to rule on whether the towel tucked into the back of Kuldeep’s trousers has kissed the boundary boards. Many slow mos but he seems to be ok.
“Halloa Tanya,” Hey there Sandip.
“Greetings from Stumptown, also known as Po[r]tland, in Oregon, in the PNW, where we are sitting on the Riverfront, and where it is slowly hotting up! The way it is happening, it will be 30C in a few hours.
“We, here are me, and mum! She is following the ball-bat action and me the bigger round ball action. She has already figured out, Sky Sports will show adverts after even number, Willow instead puts those nuisances after every over. Willow had all the desi foodie stuff, so we will be heading to the Indi-store to get some atta for ‘fulkas’ - the puffed rotis!
“Enjoy your time tickling the keyboard, or do you use swipes, or voice activated tech?”
Just bog standard typing I’m afraid. But I’m intrigued. What, I wonder, is a swipe?
7th over: Afghanistan 40-3 ( Gulbadin 7, Omarzai 10 ) Hardik’s first ball is too full and Omarzai drives him on one knee for four, pass the man a smoking jacket. The run rate has already crept up to nearly 11.
Eric, I thank you, “I have football on the TV, keeping an eye on T20 with you!”
6th over: Afghanistan 35-3 ( Gulbadin 7, Omarzai 5 ) From nowhere, Gulbardin powers Axar over deep midwicket for six.
5th over: Afghanistan 27-3 ( Gulbadin 0, Omarzai 4 ) Omarzai picks up a fortunate boundary with an outside edge between keeper and first slip. A near run out with Afghanistan visibly jumpy, and the dug-out sullen with heads in hands. Bumrah smiles happily.
WICKET! Zazai c Jadeja b Bumrah 2 (Afghanistan 23-3)
The cans start to tumble out of the cupboard, Zazai edging the first ball of Bumrah’s second over to point.
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4th over: Afghanistan 23-2 ( Zazai 2, Gulbadin 0) A wicket maiden, Ibrahim frustrated into an unwise shot.
WICKET! Ibrahim c Rohit b Axar 8 (Afghanistan 23-2)
Spin does the job, and another of Afghanistan’s big guns must trudge away, after chipping to Rohit at extra cover.
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3rd over: Afghanistan 23-1 ( Zazai 2, Ibrahim 8) Arshdeep with his second. Ibrahim slashes four then Kohli – Kohli! – somehow mis-times his leap at point and fluffs a pretty ordinary catch. He waves his hands about to ask how that happened. No -one gives him a rocket. A handful of singles
There is someone out there! Hello Adam Roberts
“Good Morning Tanya, Good Morning Everyone -
“May I start by commending you for a sterling effort following on from last night’s game in St. Lucia. [oh, thank you!]
“I, sadly, am missing this as I sit at my desk in The Cayman Islands, but it sounds like an excellent effort so far by Afghanistan. I have loved watching them so far and - as a Notts fan - thrilled that Fazalhaq Farooqi may offer some late-season solace.”
2nd over: Afghanistan 14-1 ( Zazai 0, Ibrahim 1) Bumrah puts a cool hand on India’s fevered brow. A clever slower ball to get rid of Gurbaz who is now left staring into nothingness in the dug out.
WICKET! Gurbaz c Pant b Bumrah 11 (Afghanistan 13-1)
Gurbaz, low on the stretch, gets an edge through to Pant. Drops to his knee is disappointment and thinks about throwing his bat on the ground.
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1st over: Afghanistan 13-0 (Gurbaz 11, Zazai 0) Arshdeep starts with a wide, and Gurbaz – third in the runs table this World Cup - pancakes the next straight down the ground for four. Arshdeep, struggling with his width , sends down another wide but a beauty has Gurbaz groping. Not for long though – he charges down the next, smoking it over wide long on for six. A natty start.
With the football on, I may be writing for an audience of very few. Do drop me a line though, if you’re following this game, whether from the office or the Bridgetown stands. The second innings is upon us.
India made it to 180, thanks largely to an audacious 27-ball fifty from Suryakumar Yadav. Afghanistan will need 9.1 an over – a tall, but not impossible task. Time for a five minute stretch of the legs, back shortly.
WICKET! Axar run out 12 (India 181-8) Afghanistan need 182 to win!
20th over: India 181-8 ( Arshdeep 2) Naveen begins with a wide. Follows up with a full toss which Axar ploughs away for four. A clever angle of the bat brings four more. The “last” ball is another wide, and Axar is run out off the very last with a forgetful dash.
19th over: India 167-7 ( Axar 0, Arshdeep 2) Afghanistan haven’t let India blast into the stratosphere, and if they can keep these two new batters quiet in the last over they might be relatively content.
WICKET! Jadeja c Gulbadin b Fazalhaq 7 (India 165-7)
Jadeja takes on a short one, by leaping with a ramped bat and looping the ball to Naib who catches on the gentle jog.
WICKET! Hardik c Omarzai b Naveen 32 (India 159-6)
18th over: India 159-5 (Jadeja 1, Axar 0) Hardik opens his stance and whips the ball wide over the white roof of the stand at the midwicket boundary. Hardik survives one appeal after reviewing an lbw. The finger goes up but the replays save him – hits him low on the back leg as he goes to whip the ball away, but would have missed. Doesn’t count for owt though as he’s out immediately next ball, hitting Naveen downwind and straight to the fielder.
WICKET! Suryakumar c Nabi b Fazalhaq 53 (India 150-5)
17th over: India 150-5 (Hardik 25) Fazalhaq scurries in, keeps Suryakumar quiet for three balls, but Sky flies at the fourth, barbequeing it out of the ground. The next disappears through midwicket for four to bring up his fifty off 27 balls – an absolute zinger of an innings. But Fazalhaq gets his revenge as Suryakumar then leans back to let fly but only hits the ball high and to the fielder on the rope.
16th over: India 138-4 ( Suryakumar 42, Hardik 24) Noor again. A unusually mistimed hoik by Suryakumar just accumulates one, but Hardik presses the accelerator with four then six, over cover then landing smash into a lower panel of the press box.
15th over: India 126-4 ( Suryakumar 41, Hardik 13) Better from Omarzai, dots and ones from the first four balls, but that man Suryakumar spoils things with the smoothest flow of the bat you’ve ever seen, swinging through dark chocolate, sends the ball straight for six.
14th over: India 115-4 ( Suryakumar 34, Hardik 11) India happy enough to let Rashid Khan finish his spell, but Hardik Pandya can’t resist the last ball, a tempting fat one, and cuts it to the rope.
13th over: India 110-4 ( Suryakumar 32, Hardik 7) How does he do that?! Suryakumar stretches outside off stump, picks up a full toss from Omarzi, and sweeps it square, whilst jumping bareback onto a horse. A couple more, sent stylishly through cover, and then, wow, a drives up and over mid-off, holding the pose for the sheer pleasure of the thing.
12th over: India 98-4 ( Suryakumar 22, Hardik 6) Singles for the first half of the over, but an elegant, dancing four through extra cover by Hardik sends Naveen spinning for four. Oh my, Suryakumar looks in danger here as Hardik drives straight and strong, knocking out the stumps at the non-striker’s end. But a deer-like reaction from Sky who throws himself back just in time.
11th over: India 90-4 ( Suryakumar 20, Hardik 0 ) Refreshed, Suryakumar sweeps a ball on leg stump from Rashid for four. Wow! Another sweep but high, faster, stronger, flying into the crowd for six. Rashid Khan immediately puts the breaks on by removing the dangerous Dube.
WICKET! Dube lbw Rashid (India 90-4)
A third wicket for Rashid Khan as Dube gets in a pickle against a leg break. Paul Reiffel gives it not out on the pitch but Rashid reviews straight away, and sure enough Dube was hit on the back leg, in line.
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10th over: India 79-3 ( Suryakumar 9, Dube 10) Dube drops to his knees, gentil knight style, and thrashes a juicy wide one from Noor for six down the ground. A handful of singles and decent total on the board at the half way stage.
9th over: India 67-3 ( Suryakumar 6, Dube 1) Some beautiful turbans in the crowd, Afghan flags flying as India wilt with the loss of Kohli. But Suryakumar releases the Indian vuvuzelas with a stretched sweep from outside off stump to Rashid Khan’s last ball.
WICKET! Kohli c Nabi b Rashid 24 (India 62-3)
Kohli goes to loft Rashid over cover but with pin-point precision picks out on the fielder. Throws his head back in frustration – still, double figures at last.
8th over: India 60-2 (Kohli 22, Suryakumar 2) Noor with his first over, a rhythmic approach and keeps things steady, apart from a wide.
WICKET! Pant lbw Rashid 20 (India 54-2)
7th over: India 54-2 (Kohli 19) Rashid Khan brings himself on, after that 13-run close to the power play. He took rather a tonking against the West Indies, but breaks the spell immediately here, trapping an off balance Pant lbw on the outstretched front foot as he attempts a reverse sweep. Pant reviews, with optimism, but is sent on his way.
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6th over: India 47-1 (Kohli 17, Pant 19) Nabi to bowl the final over of the power play, and it’s an eventful one. A direct hit for a quick single off the first ball, they go upstairs but Pant was safely home. Pant reverse-sweeps the next ball for four with straight legs, sweeps the third while falling over - it falls high into the hands of Naveen at fine leg – who drops it as well as helping over the boundary boards for four. A third consecutive four as Pant thrashes over cover.
5th over: India 34-1 (Kohli 16, Pant 7) Naveen-ul-Haq. Kohli watches for three balls and then drills the slower ball for six with a glorious swing of the bat over Naveen’s head.
4th over: India 25-1 (Kohli 7, Pant 7) Pant is in the mood for this, picks up three with rolling wrists through cover. Kohli sweeps Nabit twice in the over.
twice.
3rd over: India 16-1 (Kohli 1, Pant 4)Afghanistan review an lbw against Rohit, the ball hitting the back leg as Rohit drops to have a wild sweep – but it was pitching outside leg stump. A couple of wides in the over, but Afghanistan giving India nothing to play with and in the end the frustration gets to Rohit, who falls cheaply again. And as I type that, Pant picks up four from his first legit ball, a neat little tuck through backward square.
WICKET! Rohit c Rashid b Fazalhaq 8( India 11-1)
An impatient shrill down town by Rohit, but it hits the toe of the bat and goes up not long. Rashid waits patiently at mid on to collect.
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2nd over: India 8-0 (Rohit 7, Kohli 0) Spin from the other end with Mohammed Nabi, sleeves rolled up, hair slicked down. Virat Kohli is even more short of runs than Rohit – scores of 1, 4 and 0 so far in this competition. Just two
1st over: India 5-0 (Rohit 5, Kohli 0) Fazalhaq with the first over, the competition’s leading wicket taker. Rohit defends a couple, gropes at one, flies and misses, searching for his mislaid form. Eventually picks up four from an edge after a fairly hopeless bit of fielding at short third.
Apologies, I was completely fooled by the TV pictures, apparently the ground is only about an eighth full. Only 10.30am in Barbados. Afghanistan get into a huddle and do a kind of all for one and one for all hand pyramid before breaking free. Kohli and Rohit to start the innings for India.
Out march the players, Rohit with his arm round the lead mascot. Looks pretty full in the stands, lots of blue and orange shirts and flags. Sunglasses featuring quite heavily for Afghanistan.
One of the pleasures of this tournament has been to see Rishabh Pant back behind and in front of the stumps. Taha wrote a lovely appreciation.
Afghanistan XI
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan (capt), Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
One change for Afghanistan too, Hazratullah Zazai replacing Karim Janat.
India XI
India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh.
One change for their last group-stage game, Kuldeep Yadav replaces Mohammed Siraj.
Ian Smith with the pitch report – it’s a scorchio 31 degrees with a wind speed of 12 kph blowing in from the long boundary. Sunil Gavaskar says that India want to capitalise on the ball coming onto the bat quite quickly.
India win the toss and will bat!
Rohit Sharma: “Looks a good track, no grass on the pitch, think it will get slower and slower. We had a good time in New York, won games there, but have to adapt to here. Had a couple of training sessions to get used to the new conditions.
Rashid Khan would have batted too, “but it doesn’t really matter to me, it is how we play the game. I think now every team is good, we need to do the right things at the right time, play our natural game. We’ve been here for more than a couple of weeks, I think that will help us a bit but at the same time we still have to play good cricket.”
Looks balmy and beautiful and blue skied and blissful in Bridgetown. Ravi Shastri in huge hat with overblown introduction to the toss.
Preamble
Hello! After England’s thunder to victory at St Lucia in the early hours, another cracking match bubbles behind the cork – this time between Rohit Sharma’s India and surprise Super Eight contender Afghanistan, who elbowed New Zealand out of the running in Group C.
The circus has moved to Barbados, India’s first footing on Caribbean soil this tournament. They come into the Super Eights undefeated, despite the travails of the New York pitch, while Afghanistan lost only to West Indies – but it was quite the shellacking.
Ali wrote about it here:
Play starts at 3.30 BST, the toss in 15 minutes.
