ABU DHABI – India beat Afghanistan by 66 runs in their Super 12 match of T20 World Cup here on Wednesday to keep their slim chance of reaching semifinals alive.
Openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul hit half centuries to help India post 210 for 2 after being invited to bat and then restricted Afghanistan to 144 for 7 in their 20 overs.
Mohammed Shami took three wickets while Ravichandran Ashwin got two. Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja grabbed one wicket each.
For Afghanistan, Karim Janat top-scored with 42 not out while Mohammad Nabi contributed 35.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma brought his carefree elegance to the table while KL Rahul was classy as ever in India’s imposing total of 210 for 2 against Afghanistan in their must-win Super 12 game of the ICC T20 World Cup here on Wednesday.
While they would still have to bear the criticism of having flattered to deceive against Pakistan and New Zealand, Rohit (74 off 47 balls) and KL Rahul (69 off 48 balls) made a mockery of Afghanistan’s inexperienced attack, putting up a record 140 runs for the opening stand.
This was also the highest total in this edition of T20 World Cup but one can only hope that it hasn’t come two matches too late.
One of the better boundaries from Rohit was the one which he guided a Gulbadin Naib delivery towards third-man fence, using the bounce to inch towards his half-century.
The 23rd T20 International fifty came when he square-cut an off-colour Naveen to the boundary and Rahul followed suit with a six over square leg off the same bowler and then lofting Gulbadin over extra cover to reach the milestone.
