- author, Jack Skelton
- role, BBC Sports Senior Journalist
-
T20 World Cup, Super 8, Barbados
India 181-8 (20 overs): Suryakumar 53 (28); Rashid 3-26, Farooqui 3-33
Afghanistan 134 all out (20 overs): Bumrah 3-7, Arshdeep 3-36
India once again demonstrated their ability to win the T20 World Cup with a convincing 47-run victory over Afghanistan in the Super 8 in Barbados.
Suryakumar Yadav scored a brilliant 53 off 28 balls to guide India to a respectable 181-8 victory despite the failure of their highly-rated top-order.
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan and the tournament’s leading wicket-taker Fazalhaq Farooqui impressed with three wickets each, but the game slowed towards the end of the innings, leaving the batsmen little room for error in the chase.
They had slipped to 23 for 3 in the early stages of the fightback, with India’s best fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah taking two openers to end up with figures of 3 for 7.
India kept the pressure on Afghanistan to get well behind the required rate but were dismissed for 134 off the final ball with Arshdeep Singh taking 3-36.
The other two teams in Group 1, Australia and Bangladesh, will play in Antigua later on Thursday evening (1.30pm BST).
SKY is great
Suryakumar played at his most mesmerising, mixing power and finesse to threaten boundaries all over the ground.
A powerful sweep for six from Rashid followed, followed by two powerful maximum shots from Azmatullah and Farooqui that rolled down the ground, Skye holding his pause brilliantly with the follow through on both shots.
He reached his fifty in 27 balls but was dropped on the next ball when he mispassed Farooqui to Mohammed Nabi at long-off.
Hardik Pandya provided welcome support with two big sixes in his 32 off 24, while Akshar Patel added 12 sixes in the closing stages to keep India in the lead.
These were vital contributions after Afghanistan got off to a strong start by eliminating India’s top three relatively cheaply.
Farooqui tricked India captain Rohit Sharma with a slow ball to keep him at eight, while Rashid restricted Rishabh Pant to 20 before picking it at long-off to restrict Kohli to 24.
Kohli’s form will be the biggest concern for India as he managed just five runs in three group stage matches, barring one impressive six, and once again struggled with timing.
Either way, it’s the blueprint that has made India a very dangerous team in their quest for a first T20 world title since the inaugural tournament in 2007, capable of scoring big totals and wreaking havoc with their excellent bowling attack.
Bumrah used a cutter to deceive Rahmanullah Gurbaz and then got behind to lure fellow opener Hazratullah Zazai onto a leading edge, either side of which Ibrahim Zadran smashed Akshar straight into covers.
Afghanistan often relied on their top order and their early dismissal allowed India to pressure the rest of the order to fall well short of the target.
India will next take on Bangladesh in Antigua on Saturday (15:30 BST), while Afghanistan will take on Australia in St Vincent the same evening (01:30 BST).
“Great effort from the batsmen” – Reaction
Man of the match, Indian batsman Suryakumar Yadav: “When I go into a match, I have a clear idea in my mind of what I want to do.
“It’s very difficult to pick Rashid Khan. He is the best bowler in the world. You can’t let him dominate you. You have to be one step ahead. I managed to be on the right side.”
India captain Rohit Sharma: “We adapted well and scored 180 runs, it was a great effort from our batsmen.
“We know Jasprit Bumrah’s ability and talent and it is important to use him wisely regardless of the situation.”
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan“If we had executed it smarter, we could have been successful.”
“My bowling is going well and I’m always hitting the right places but the most important thing is the result of the match.”