World Cup Points Table 2019: Updated Team Standings after India Vs Afghanistan match
India received a mighty scare from Afghanistan in the ICC World Cup as the World No. 2 side were dragged till the very end by a spirited Afghanistan side. India eventually won the game by 11 runs as the crowd at Ageas Bowl, Southampton witnessed a cracking match.
Coming into the game, India were expected to get an easy win considering how Afghanistan had played so far in the World Cup. Skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and chose to bat on what seemed to be a fantastic batting track. However, within a few balls, it became clear that this was a very slow wicket on which batting won't be a straightforward thing. India lost an early wicket as Rohit Sharma got a superb delivery from Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
After that, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli batted comfortably. But, a poor shot from Rahul resulted in his knock ending in a premature way. In spite of this wicket and the tough pitch, Virat Kohli continued to play on as if he was batting on a completely different wicket. Yet after a decent partnership, both Vijay Shankar and Virat Kohli returned back to the dressing room after losing their wickets in a tame manner. Then, the experienced MS Dhoni also found it difficult to score as Afghanistan's spinners bowled plenty of dot balls to build pressure on India. It was only Kedar Jadhav's measured 52 off 68 balls that ensured India reach a competitive total of 224.
Chasing 225 to record a historic win, Afghanistan's openers, Hazratullah Zazai and Gulbadin Naib had a nervy start as India's new ball bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami didn't bowl many loose deliveries. Zazai eventually lost patience and threw away his wicket with an ungainly slog off Shami's bowling. But, Naib buckled down and started to find a better way of scoring runs along with Rahmat Shah.
After few overs of calm and composure, Naib's tenure in the middle was brought to an end by Hardik Pandya. Then, Rahmat and Hashmatulah Shahidi carried on their usual approach of batting conservatively. It was all looking rosy for Afghanistan with the Rahmat-Shahidi partnership starting to bloom but Virat Kohli brought on his trump card, Bumrah to shift the momentum. The World No.1 ODI bowler, Bumrah didn't disappoint his captain as he changed the game in a gap of 3 balls as both the settled Afghan batsmen made their walk back.
Suddenly, Afghanistan had gone from 106-2 to 106-4. India quickly seized the moment and got another wicket in the form of Asghar Afghan. Those 3 quick wickets ensured that India became huge favorites to finish the game from there on. However, the experienced Mohammad Nabi scored a brilliant fifty to take the game very deep. Very deep turned out to be the final over as Nabi brought down the equation to 12 off 5 . But, Shami bowled a terrific next three deliveries as he bagged a hat-trick and ensured India ended up on the winning side.
Points Table
With this win, India reached 9 points from 5 games. Another win will almost seal a semi-final spot for India. On the other hand, this result meant that Afghanistan have no chance of making it to the Top 4.
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