India kept their slim hopes of reaching the ICC Men’s Twenty/20 Cricket World Cup semi-finals alive with a crushing 66-run win over Afghanistan in Group 2 in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
Rohit Sharma and Lokesh Rahul shared an opening stand of 140 to set the pace for India’s innings. Sharma made 74 off 47 balls and Rahul scored 69 off 48, before Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya sustained the onslaught to carry India to 210-2, the highest score of the tournament so far.
Afghanistan never looked capable of chasing 211, but they limited the severity of defeat to protect their superior net run-rate, which determines who progresses if multiple teams finish equal on the same points.
After slipping to 69-5 in the 12th over, Karim Janat scored 42 not out, and captain, Mohammad Nabi made 35 to help Afghanistan reach 144-7 off 20 overs.
The final scores: India 210-2 off 20 overs, Afghanistan 144-7 off 20 overs.
The margin of victory keeps India in a thrilling three-team race with Afghanistan and New Zealand for the second semi-final spot behind Group 2 leaders Pakistan.
New Zealand will go through if they beat Namibia and Afghanistan, regardless of other results. But if they lose either game, India, who will play against Scotland and Namibia next will qualify if they win both their games and overhaul the run rates of Afghanistan and New Zealand.
