| 0.0 : Hello and a very warm welcome everyone for the clash between arguably the two best teams in the tournament. Both topped their group in the preliminary stage, although have experienced different fortunes after that. With a couple of crushing wins, India have stormed into the final while Afghanistan suffered back-to-back close losses to get knocked out. The stakes aren't too high in this dead-rubber but watching the Afghans' recent resurgence, you can expect them to present a tough fight. For the |
| Pitch report - It's not so hot today, a bit windy. The pitch looks a batting beauty and the bowlers might get something out of it if they hit the right lengths. |
| TOSS - Afghanistan win the toss and opt to bat! |
| Regular Afghanistan captain, Asghar Afghan says the wicket looks good for the spinners so wants to put runs on the board first up. Mentions there are two changes as Samiullah Shenwari and Ihsanullah Janat go out for Najibullah Zadran and Javed Ahmadi. States in the last two games they played very well and have learnt a lot of lessons from them. Feels conditions aren't all that different from Abu Dhabi as they play in the UAE quite regularly. |
| New (stand-in) India captain, MS Dhoni says they were looking to bowl first anyway. On team changes, informs both openers (Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan) are missing, along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal. Reckons it's a good opportunity for the others to get a chance. Adds that even if they haven't got a chance yet, they are a part of the squad and there's no doubt about their quality. Adds further it's important for them to adjust to the conditions and do well. On |
| Out come the match officials, referee and players from both teams for the national anthems. Afghanistan's first followed by India's. |
| We are ready to begin. Mohammad Shahzad has a new partner in Javed Ahmadi today. India spread out across the field after a last-minute pep talk from a familiar man. Khaleel Ahmed to kick things off. A slip in place along with a gully. Here we go... |
| 0.1 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, Good length delivery cutting in from around off, Shahzad rises on his toes and and blocks it back down the track. |
| 0.2 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, Just behind a length, keeps it around off again, Shahzad from inside the crease pushes it on the off side. |
| 0.3 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, Wide! Ahmed errs in line as he sprays it down the leg side, the batsman looks to flick but misses. |
| K Ahmed to M Shahzad, FOUR! Did not intend to do that at all. Shahzad actually wanted to leave this shortish ball, but was a little late in doing so and as a result, the ball went off the top half of the bat and over the gap between the keeper and first slip for a boundary. |
| 0.4 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, On the hips, worked gently on the leg side. No run taken. |
| 0.5 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, Shaping away from around off, on a good length, dabbed to backward point with an open face. |
| 0.6 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, Retains strike with a single. Mohammad Shahzad pulls this down to fine leg and easily gets to the other end. Decent first over from Ahmed. |
| The debutant Deepak Chahar to bowl from the other end with the second new ball. Let's see how he fares in his first outing in the Indian blue. |
| 1.1 : D Chahar to M Shahzad, A bit of shape away as he lands it outside off, fuller in length. Shahzad plants his front foot forward and raises his bat to let it be. |
| 1.2 : D Chahar to M Shahzad, Brings it back in this time, keeps it full again. Shahzad is half-forward this time as he plays it back down the track. |
| 1.3 : D Chahar to M Shahzad, Hits that good length and targets the top of off stump, it's blocked well with the full face of the bat. |
| 1.4 : D Chahar to M Shahzad, FOUR! This is how he bats. There's enough room with the swing away from him. Walks down the track and lofts it over cover-point to find the fence. Nicely played, Shahzad. |
| 1.5 : D Chahar to M Shahzad, Fullish in length in that off stump channel, presents a straight blade in response to keep it out. |
| 1.6 : D Chahar to M Shahzad, Finds the gap well. Shahzad flicks this neatly through the mid-wicket region and takes three. Was a fraction straight in line, played that well. 7 from Chahar's first over in ODIs. |
| 2.1 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, FOUR! Full and right in the slot, Mohammad Shahzad has no second thoughts about putting this away. With a nice extension of the arms he lifts it over mid on and sends it across the boundary line. |
| 2.2 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, Oooofff! That wasn't far away. Khaleel serves it on a length and it holds its line. Shahzad leaves and it goes agonizingly close past the off stick. Too close for comfort. |
| 2.3 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, The natural angle away from the right-hander, he opens the bat face and runs it down to third man for a single. |
| 2.4 : K Ahmed to J Ahmadi, Back of a length ball around off, a firm punch is offered straight to the man at cover. |
| 2.5 : K Ahmed to J Ahmadi, Tight line. Cramping Ahmadi for room by bowling it around off and making it come back in. The batsman can only defend it under his nose. |
| 2.6 : K Ahmed to J Ahmadi, Short ball banged in, in line of the stumps, Ahmadi moves inside the line and awkwardly works it down in front of short mid-wicket. |
| 3.1 : D Chahar to M Shahzad, No movement on this occasion for Chahar. He bowls it fuller on middle and leg, Shahzad picks it off his pads and nudges it square on the leg side for a run. |
| 3.2 : D Chahar to J Ahmadi, First runs for Javed Ahmadi. He whips this length delivery aerially through square leg and seeing the big gap out there, he decides to come back for the second. |
| 3.3 : D Chahar to J Ahmadi, Full in length, on the sixth stump line, played off the outer half behind point for a comfortable single. |
| 3.4 : D Chahar to M Shahzad, No ball! It's a beamer and that'll be a Free Hit. Chahar was attempting the back-of-the-hand slower one but it just slips out of his hands, Shahzad ducks and evades. Gives a big stare to the bowler who just turns around and goes back to his mark. MS Dhoni is seen having a chat with the square leg umpire, seems a warning has been issued for Chahar. |
| D Chahar to M Shahzad, Wide! Tries a slower bouncer this time but it doesn't come off well. Goes way over Mohammad Shahzad's head who attempts to club it over the leg side. The Free Hit will carry forward to the next delivery. |
| D Chahar to M Shahzad, Wide! Probably nerves? Perhaps trying a bit too hard. Short and way outside off, it's too high and goes across the tramline too. Wide called. Free Hit still there... |
| D Chahar to M Shahzad, SIX! Keeps it full and straight this time and Shahzad dispatches that. Was ready for it. Cleared his front leg and slogged it well over the cow corner for the first maximum of the innings. |
| 3.5 : D Chahar to M Shahzad, Fuller ball is driven to mid on for no run. |
| 3.6 : D Chahar to M Shahzad, FOUR! 17 runs off this over. Not exactly the ideal start for Deepak Chahar's ODI career. He pitches this short and on off, Shahzad takes a step across to move inside the line and pulls it over mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 4.1 : K Ahmed to J Ahmadi, Short of a length delivery on off, Ahmadi hops and blocks it solidly with a straight blade. |
| 4.2 : K Ahmed to J Ahmadi, Stays deep inside the crease to this shortish ball and presents a defensive shot in response. |
| 4.3 : K Ahmed to J Ahmadi, Just ahead of a length, Ahmadi dabs it to point. |
| 4.4 : K Ahmed to J Ahmadi, Tries running this down to third man but doesn't get the placement right. Instead, plays it straight to point again. |
| 4.5 : K Ahmed to J Ahmadi, Good work from Rahul, doesn't let it pass. Ahmadi once again waits for the ball to guide it to third man, but the placement is a bit too fine and KL at wide first slip moves swiftly to his right and stops the ball with a dive. Nicely done. |
| 4.6 : K Ahmed to J Ahmadi, Maiden over from Khaleel Ahmed. Finishes well. Keeps it tight around that off stump channel and on a length, Javed pats it away to the point fielder. |
| Siddarth Kaul into the attack now. |
| 5.1 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, Full ball well outside off, driven hard square of the wicket on the off side but can't find the gap. |
| 5.2 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, Full in length again, outside the line of off stump, drilled right at the cover fielder. |
| 5.3 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, FOUR! Finds the gap this time. A boundary after 8 dot balls. The pressure was mounting and this will certainly help. That's a good shot. Kaul offers too much room outside off, Shahzad can free his arms and he does so. Cracks it through extra cover and sends it across the boundary line. |
| 5.4 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, Angling in on middle and leg, worked defensively towards mid-wicket. |
| 5.5 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, Hurled on a length on off, played back in the bowler's direction. |
| 5.6 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, Shahzad plays this very late. Waits for the length ball to come and cuts it down off the outer half to third man at the last minute. Ahmed out in the deep moves to his left and keeps the batsmen to just the one. |
| 6.1 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, SIX! Big shot from the big man! They're playing to his strengths for now. This time, Ahmed fires it full around off, Shahzad stays firm in the crease and clears the long on fence with a mighty swing of his bat. Khaleel concedes a boundary after 9 balls, been bowling well so far. Hit for a big one first up, can he come back well? |
| 6.2 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, Shortish delivery around off, going away, the batsman goes for the pull shot but misses. |
| 6.3 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, Around the off stump again, once again the opener fails to put bat on ball. |
| 6.4 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, That's the length to bowl to Shahzad. Keep it short and close to the body. Ahmed bangs it in on the leg stump line and the batsman can only awkwardly duck and evade it. |
| 6.5 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, Shaping away from a good length around off, punched firmly past point. Jadeja chases after it and throws it back in, restricting the batsmen to a couple of runs. |
| 6.6 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, Good comeback from Khaleel. Six off the first and just 2 runs conceded in the entire over after that. Pounds it short and Shahzad fails to connect with the pull. |
| Ravindra Jadeja into the attack now. Spin introduced early on from Dhoni, good move. Shahzad was attacking the pacers. Maybe some spin can do the trick. |
| 7.1 : R Jadeja to J Ahmadi, Full and around off, driven to mid off. |
| 7.2 : R Jadeja to J Ahmadi, Beaten! This is brilliant bowling. Sharp turn for Jadeja from the get-go. Loops it up from around the wicket on off and it just rips off the deck. Ahmadi is forward to defend but gets beaten past the outside edge. |
| 7.3 : R Jadeja to J Ahmadi, A bit quicker through the air on off, Javed defends it down behind in front of the slip fielder. |
| 7.4 : R Jadeja to J Ahmadi, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 7.5 : R Jadeja to J Ahmadi, Spinning away from around off, Ahmadi goes back to cut when there isn't much room and could have paid the price. Misses and is lucky he doesn't chop it back on. |
| 7.6 : R Jadeja to J Ahmadi, Better. Is watchful as he stays right behind the line of this one and blocks. |
| Siddarth Kaul is back on. Change of ends for him. |
| 8.1 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, Length delivery just outside the line of off stump, punched square to point. |
| 8.2 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, FOUR! That made a cracking sound as the ball went off the bat. Short ball and Shahzad picks it up early. Stands tall and muscles the pull over mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 8.3 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, FOUR! Consecutive boundaries for the attacking opener. Moves to 49 with that. It's full and wide outside off, Shahzad hammers it with a lot of power over the covers to find the fence. |
| 8.4 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, Fired in full, on middle stump, brings his bat in front of his pad to defend. |
| 8.5 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, Dropped! What a grave mistake from Ambati Rayudu. With the kind of form he's in, no way he should have let that slip. An easy catch too. Shahzad powers this full ball aerially towards mid off. Rayudu moves to his right, gets his hands to it but drops it. A single is taken and that's the fifty up for Shahzad. His 14th in this format. Well-deserved too. |
| 8.6 : S Kaul to J Ahmadi, Works it away on the leg side to end the over. |
| 9.1 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, SIX! Sweet, sweet connection off the middle. Shahzad doesn't care who comes at him, he's just murdering everything that's coming his way. Gets low to this tossed up delivery and slogs it high and handsome over the mid-wicket boundary for a maximum. |
| 9.2 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, Seeing Shahzad make room, Jadeja fires it on his pads. The batsman still manages to force it away to the covers. |
| 9.3 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, Full in line of the stumps, drilled to mid on. |
| 9.4 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, Another dot. Jadeja coming back well here. This full delivery is drilled to mid off. |
| 9.5 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, Looks to play this away but can't connect with the ball. Gets it off the inside half on the leg side. |
| 9.6 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, A touch slower through the air, turning away from outside off, Shahzad shoulders his arms to it. |
| Kuldeep Yadav to roll his arm over now. |
| 10.1 : K Yadav to J Ahmadi, A lot of loop on this, around off, Ahmadi is well forward in defense. |
| 10.2 : K Yadav to J Ahmadi, Kuldeep bowls this really slow through the air again, Ahmadi comes forward and blocks once more. |
| 10.3 : K Yadav to J Ahmadi, Straighter one but on the pads, swept well through to deep backward square leg for a single. |
| 10.4 : K Yadav to M Shahzad, A lot of air around off, Mohammad Shahzad moves across the sticks, before patting it back down towards Kuldeep. |
| 10.5 : K Yadav to M Shahzad, Spinning away from around off, played to point for no run. |
| 10.6 : K Yadav to M Shahzad, Whoa! Big swing and a big miss from Shahzad. Doesn't pick up the googly as Kuldeep throws it outside off, gets low to slog it over mid-wicket but is beaten all ends up. |
| Kedar Jadhav brought into the bowling attack. |
| 11.1 : K Jadhav to J Ahmadi, Flighted delivery to start with, full and on off, Ahmadi defends it back. |
| 11.2 : K Jadhav to J Ahmadi, Slightly short and around off, Ahmadi goes on the back foot and pushes it out on the off side. |
| 11.3 : K Jadhav to J Ahmadi, Gets forward to a full ball and drives it through the line, finds the cover fielder. |
| 11.4 : K Jadhav to J Ahmadi, Tossed up ball on middle, worked off the pads but straight towards square leg. |
| 11.5 : K Jadhav to J Ahmadi, This time Ahmadi finds the gap with his flick shot and pushes it through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 11.6 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, Flighted and on middle, Shahzad clips it on the leg side but finds mid-wicket. |
| Ravindra Jadeja returns. Change of ends for him. He has a slip in place. |
| 12.1 : R Jadeja to J Ahmadi, Tossed up ball on off, defended off the front foot. |
| 12.2 : R Jadeja to J Ahmadi, Turning away a bit from around off, Ahmadi blocks it off the front foot. |
| 12.3 : R Jadeja to J Ahmadi, Turn and bounce. Beaten. Ahmadi rocks back to play the square cut but is beaten. Wasn't far away from the outside edge. |
| Appeal for a stumping! MS Dhoni is quite sure but the square leg umpire wants to get it referred upstairs. Let's wait and watch... |
| 12.4 : R Jadeja to J Ahmadi, OUT! MS Dhoni is rarely wrong. Ahmadi has to depart. He contributed just 5 runs in the 65-run opening stand. But credit to him for hanging in with Shahzad. Coming to the wicket, Jadeja serves it full and on middle, Ahmadi runs down the track to play a big shot probably but gets an inside edge onto the pads. It deflects behind to Dhoni, who collects it and does the rest with ease. He appeals before going to celebrate with his players and the square leg umpire signals f |
| Rahmat Shah is in next at number 3. |
| 12.5 : R Jadeja to R Shah, Loopy and full on off, defended off the front foot. |
| 12.6 : R Jadeja to R Shah, Drags his length short and outside off, Shah outside edges his attempted square cut past the slip fielder for a brace. End of a successful over for Jadeja. |
| 13.1 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, Quicker and flatter on off, Shahzad goes back and smacks it back to the bowler. |
| 13.2 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, Quicker and shorter outside off, hit straight to the covers. |
| 13.3 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, Gives the charge as it's darted wide outside off, drills it through the gap in the covers and takes two for doing so. |
| 13.4 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, SIX! BANG! That's outta here. A little bit of air and Shahzad pummels this. In his slot as he clears his front leg and smokes it straight back over the bowler's head for a biggie. |
| 13.5 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, Uppish, just short of the fielder! Jadhav bowls it short and wide outside off, Shahzad slaps it through the line, it's aerial but drops just in front of Rayudu at covers. It hits his hands after that and rolls towards the bowler. Shahzad is living dangerously all his innings and has been lucky too. |
| 13.6 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, Gets on the front foot and pushes it towards covers. 8 coming from this over. |
| 14.1 : R Jadeja to R Shah, Full and around off, Rahmat leans forward and drives it down through mid off for a run. |
| 14.2 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, FOUR! Thrashed! As soon as Jadeja drops it short, Shahzad goes deep inside the crease and cracks it via a pull shot to the deep mid-wicket region for a boundary. |
| 14.3 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, Driven through mid on by the batsman. One run added to the total. |
| 14.4 : R Jadeja to R Shah, OUT! Jadeja bowls a beauty to get rid of Rahmat Shah. Second wicket for him and he has struck in consecutive overs to provide India some relief. He tosses it up in the air and lands it around middle. Shah is forward to defend, probably, playing for the away spin but to his bad luck, it turns out to be an arm ball. It kisses the deck, beats his bat and sneaks past his pads to disturb the sticks. One of Afghanistan's premier batsman departs cheaply. |
| Hashmatullah Shahidi walks in next. |
| 14.5 : R Jadeja to H Shahidi, Shahidi has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 14.6 : R Jadeja to H Shahidi, Flatter and on off, defended off the back foot to end the over. |
| Kuldeep Yadav is into the attack. |
| 15.1 : K Yadav to M Shahzad, Full and flighted on off, it's driven with the spin through extra cover for a run. |
| 15.2 : K Yadav to H Shahidi, OUT! Superb stumping by MS Dhoni. He is lightning quick we all know and just proves it again. Really master of quick reflexes. We have to give credit to Kuldeep here as well. It's beautifully tossed up in the air and Shahidi is lured into the shot. He shimmies down the track but then quickly realizes that he's beaten in flight. Tries to defend after that but it turns away to beat his bat. Hashmatullah tries to get back in but Dhoni is ultra-quick in collecting the bal |
| Drinks break. Afghanistan started the innings off well with Shahzad firing away like there's no tomorrow, but some quick wickets quickly after the end of Powerplay 1 saw India come back in this match well. Will be interesting to see if Afghanistan can shore things up now. Also, Asghar Afghan, the skipper, walks into the middle next. |
| 15.3 : K Yadav to A Afghan, OUT! Bowled 'em! KULDEEP ON A HAT-TRICK! He dishes out his stock ball again which lands around off and turns back in. Afghan should have been forward to this but decides to play it from the back foot. His attempt is to flick but misses the ball completely. The ball is not missing the sticks. The Indians are ecstatic as Afghan with a dejected look walks back. |
| Gulbadin Naib is the next batsman in. Wickets falling faster than the Flash here. Two slips and two leg gullys in place for Naib. Dhoni really attacking now. |
| 15.4 : K Yadav to G Naib, No hat-trick. Full and flighted, landing around off, Naib leans forward in defense. Watchfully negotiated. |
| 15.5 : K Yadav to G Naib, Very full again, on off, Naib tries to drive but gets it away off the inside half of the bat. It rolls towards square leg and the leg gully fielder moves across to his left to pick it up. |
| 15.6 : K Yadav to G Naib, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. End of a tremendous over by Kuldeep, 2 wickets and a run from it. |
| 16.1 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, Flatter and shorter outside off, cut from the back foot but straight to point. |
| 16.2 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, Short again, outside off, Shahzad this time cracks it off his back foot to deep cover. They come back for the second run as Chahal sends in the throw towards the keeper's end. Dhoni collects and deflects it onto the stumps without looking behind. No harm done. |
| 16.3 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, Short and on middle, pulled to deep mid-wicket for a single. |
| 16.4 : R Jadeja to G Naib, Naib has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 16.5 : R Jadeja to G Naib, Full and on middle, Naib strides forward and pushes it down to long on for a run. |
| 16.6 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, Wide! Jadeja bowls it wide outside off, Naib lets it be. |
| R Jadeja to M Shahzad, Floated and on off, Shahzad goes down on one knee and swings it to deep mid-wicket for a run. |
| 17.1 : K Yadav to M Shahzad, Tossed up ball on leg, it's punched off the back foot to mid-wicket. |
| 17.2 : K Yadav to M Shahzad, Loopy and full outside off, Shahzad attacks it and powers it over mid on. Doesn't carry to the fielder in the deep as he collects it on one bounce. A single taken. |
| 17.3 : K Yadav to G Naib, Loopy and on off, Naib works it off his pads to mid-wicket. |
| 17.4 : K Yadav to G Naib, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 17.5 : K Yadav to G Naib, Flatter and on off, defended off the back foot. |
| 17.6 : K Yadav to G Naib, Full and turning back in, Naib flicks it on the leg side but finds square leg. |
| 18.1 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, FOUR! Shahzad is not bothered at all. Receives a full toss and muscles it over short fine leg for a boundary. Fine connection. |
| 18.2 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, SIX! Bang! This is even better. Jadeja allows the batsman to get under this delivery and smokes it over mid-wicket for a maximum. Massive effort this by MS, has scored 85 runs out of the 99 put on the board. |
| 18.3 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, Appeal for an lbw! Shahzad goes down and across to play the paddle sweep but fails to connect. He is hit on the pads, they let out a stifled appeal but nothing doing. |
| 18.4 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 18.5 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, Quicker and flatter outside off, Shahzad tries to sweep but misses. |
| 18.6 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, Driven through mid on by the batsman. One run added to the total. |
| 19.1 : K Yadav to M Shahzad, Flatter and on off, defended off the back foot by Shahzad. |
| 19.2 : K Yadav to M Shahzad, Full and outside off, pushed out with the turn to covers. |
| 19.3 : K Yadav to M Shahzad, Watchful now, maybe wants to get to his hundred without taking any unnecessary chances. Loopy and on off, Shahzad draws forward in defense and gets it away off the inside half of his bat. |
| 19.4 : K Yadav to M Shahzad, Straighter in line this time, it's eased with the spin on the leg side. Finds the gap and a run is taken. |
| 19.5 : K Yadav to G Naib, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 19.6 : K Yadav to G Naib, Just out of the reach of the short cover fielder, Karthik. Spinning away from the batsman after landing full, Naib swings his bat but gets a leading edge on it. It loops in the air, Karthik moves back a bit and then puts in a dive but it falls just safely. |
| Khaleel Ahmed is back into the attack. |
| 20.1 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, SIX! Nails it! Pace on the ball and Shahzad loves it. He rocks back and across to a length ball and launches it over mid-wicket for a maximum. Welcome into the attack, Khaleel. |
| 20.2 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, Play and a miss! Short and angling away from the batsman, Shahzad goes back to play the square cut but fails to make any connection. |
| Mohammad Shahzad is given out caught behind. He moves away, has a chat with his partner and goes for the DRS. There was some noise. Not sure off what though... |
| 20.3 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, NOT OUT! Brilliant use of the technology by Shahzad. Ahmed comes running in from 'round the wicket and bangs in a short ball around off. Shahzad tries to pull it across the line but loses his posture a bit. Fails to get it off the meat of the bat but there is some noise as it goes behind. Dhoni collects the ball, they all appeal and the finger goes up. Shahzad indicates to his partner that it has brushed his sleeves and then goes for the DRS. The replays confirm the s |
| 20.4 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, Width on offer outside off, MS calmly runs it down to third man for a run. |
| 20.5 : K Ahmed to G Naib, Full and on off, Naib is on the front foot in defense. |
| 20.6 : K Ahmed to G Naib, Back of a length ball on middle and off, Naib defends it off his back foot towards the bowler. End of an eventful over, 7 coming from it. |
| 21.1 : K Yadav to M Shahzad, The googly on off, Shahzad drops it towards covers for a quick run. 5 short of a ton now is the opener. |
| 21.2 : K Yadav to G Naib, The leggie on middle, Naib gets behind the line and defends it onto the ground. |
| 21.3 : K Yadav to G Naib, Slower through the air on the pads, Naib works it to mid-wicket. |
| 21.4 : K Yadav to G Naib, Another tossed up delivery, it pitches and turns back in sharply. Naib lunges and tries to defend but it goes off the inner half towards mid-wicket. Now then, a short leg place could come handy with the amount of turn which is on offer out there. |
| 21.5 : K Yadav to G Naib, Sharp turn there! Another ball tossed up outside off, it comes back in with a lot of bite. Naib goes back and tries to keep it out but is hit high on the pads. |
| 21.6 : K Yadav to G Naib, A dot to end, 5 in a row! Just a single from the over as Yadav bowls a loopy ball on middle, Naib blocks it out. |
| 22.1 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, A mishit! Short and outside off, from 'round the wicket, Shahzad gets across the stumps, swings his bat but fails to middle his shot again. It goes behind after taking the bottom edge of his bat. |
| 22.2 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, Sensibly left this time. Back of a length delivery outside off, MS stays inside the crease and shoulders arms. |
| 22.3 : K Ahmed to M Shahzad, Angles in a shortish ball on middle, Shahzad gets on top of the delivery and works it in front of square leg for a run. |
| 22.4 : K Ahmed to G Naib, Slants in a good length ball on off, Naib jumps on the back foot and defends it to the off side. |
| 22.5 : K Ahmed to G Naib, A 139 kph delivery, angling into the batsman on a good length, Naib sticks back and pushes it towards the bowler. |
| 22.6 : K Ahmed to G Naib, Slower than the last delivery. A touch short and outside off, Naib plays inside the line and edges it down towards deep backward point. The third man fielder moves across to his right and they cross for a run. |
| 23.1 : K Yadav to G Naib, Beaten! Full and around middle, turning away, Naib lunges in defense and is beaten by the away spin. |
| 23.2 : K Yadav to G Naib, Spinning into the batsman this time, Gulbadin flicks it on the leg side but finds mid-wicket. |
| 23.3 : K Yadav to G Naib, Walks forward to a full ball and pushes it back to Kuldeep. |
| 23.4 : K Yadav to G Naib, Tossed up ball on middle, Naib kneels and slog sweeps it in front of square leg for a run. |
| 23.5 : K Yadav to M Shahzad, Floated and full outside off, tuning back in a bit, Shahzad reaches out for it and pushes it of the inside half of his bat to mid-wicket. |
| 23.6 : K Yadav to M Shahzad, Drags his length a bit and bowls it on off, Shahzad moves back and defends it towards the bowler. Watchful. |
| 24.1 : R Jadeja to G Naib, Drifting in on off stump, blocked with the full face of the bat. |
| 24.2 : R Jadeja to G Naib, Short ball, Naib decides to block it again. |
| 24.3 : R Jadeja to G Naib, Jadeja bowls it full and slows it through the air around off, it turns away and takes the outside edge of Naib's bat who is forward to block. Rolls towards third man and a single is taken. |
| 24.4 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, Goes back and whips this flat ball towards wide long on for one more. |
| 24.5 : R Jadeja to G Naib, Jadeja keeps it short again, Naib presents a defensive bat in response. |
| 24.6 : R Jadeja to G Naib, A little sloppy from Jaddu, a rare instance for him. Naib drives it back to him but he's slow to get down and lets it through him. One run to end the over. |
| Siddarth Kaul back on. |
| 25.1 : S Kaul to G Naib, Muted appeal for a leg before, but even Kaul opts out of it quickly. Back of a length on off, raps the batsman high on the thigh pad as he tries to play at it. |
| 25.2 : S Kaul to G Naib, Fraction straight in line, easily worked away in front of square leg for a double. |
| 25.3 : S Kaul to G Naib, FOUR! Top edge and away! Bumper angling in on leg, hurries Naib into the pull shot and he gets a top edge as a result. The ball runs down to fine leg and a boundary results. Well, what do you know? This is the first boundary of the innings which hasn't been scored by Mohammad Shahzad. Unreal stuff. |
| 25.4 : S Kaul to G Naib, Cutting in from a good length, close to off, Naib blocks it off the inner half to the right of the bowler. |
| 25.5 : S Kaul to G Naib, In the channel around off, tapped down right beside him on the off side. |
| 25.6 : S Kaul to G Naib, Goes for the yorker and almost executes it. It's quite full and Gulbadin flicks it well in front of square on the leg side. A single is collected. |
| 26.1 : R Jadeja to G Naib, Flatter ball on middle and off, turning away a touch, Naib is on the back foot to keep it out. |
| 26.2 : R Jadeja to G Naib, Shorter again, another defensive shot presented by Gulbadin Naib. |
| 26.3 : R Jadeja to G Naib, Worked away with the wrists into the leg side and a run is taken. |
| 26.4 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, Shahzad makes use of the feet and dabs it to short third man. Thinks of taking the single but then opts out of it. |
| 26.5 : R Jadeja to M Shahzad, Taps this shorter ball in front of cover and hares to the other end to complete the run. A rare sight, that. Just goes to show how badly he wants that hundred. |
| 26.6 : R Jadeja to G Naib, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 27.1 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, Begins things with a bouncer outside off, the batsman doesn't bother himself with it. The umpire signals one for the over. |
| 27.2 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, Comfortably done. Shahzad opens the face of the bat and guides it to third man before getting to the other end. |
| 27.3 : S Kaul to G Naib, Shaping back in off the seam, a little fuller in length, it's blocked tamely on the leg side. |
| 27.4 : S Kaul to G Naib, Brings out the short one again and almost takes the batsman by surprise. Gulbadin at the last moment ducks and evades. The umpire signals second for the over. |
| 27.5 : S Kaul to G Naib, Bowls a good length delivery on off, guarded from the inner half on the leg side. |
| 27.6 : S Kaul to G Naib, Short of a good length outside off, Naib rises on his toes, gets on top of the bounce and offers a solid punch to cover-point. |
| Deepak Chahar returns to the attack. He was expensive as he went for 24 runs in his first two overs. Probably nerves getting to him. Let's see if he can put in a better show in this second spell. |
| 28.1 : D Chahar to M Shahzad, FOUR! 5th ODI ton for Mohammad Shahzad! Well-deserved for the big man. Thoroughly deserves it. And you can see just how much it means to him too, he's really pumped. He's excelled when all the other batsmen have failed. Superb batting. It's a freebie really. He gets it on the pads and tickles it fine down the leg side for a boundary. |
| 28.2 : D Chahar to M Shahzad, Sprays it on leg stump, raps Shahzad on the pads as he tries to flick it away. It rolls away on the leg side and a leg bye is taken. The 50-run stand comes up with this. |
| 28.3 : D Chahar to G Naib, A hint of shape away, fuller length delivery around off, blocked with no trouble at all. |
| 28.4 : D Chahar to G Naib, OUT! He's gone! A budding partnership for Afghanistan comes to an end. Chahar gets his first wicket in ODI cricket. Full and coming in on the pads, Naib flicks it over mid-wicket. No elevation on it and the placement is so good that Gulbadin finds Jadhav out in the deep. He moves a couple of steps to his right and takes it safely. |
| Mohammad Nabi is the new batsman. |
| 28.5 : D Chahar to M Shahzad, Too straight in line, flicked through mid-wicket along the carpet for a single. |
| 28.6 : D Chahar to M Nabi, Slower bouncer, Nabi doesn't pick it up at all. Ducks too early as the ball goes above his head. Has a laugh afterwards. |
| Kedar Jadhav is back. |
| 29.1 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, Short ball angling in, Shahzad backs away and punches it towards short mid-wicket, where Jadeja does well to stop the ball. |
| 29.2 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, A punch from Shahzad off the back foot to long on earns him a single. |
| 29.3 : K Jadhav to M Nabi, Spinning in a bit, swept away on the leg side for a run. |
| 29.4 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, Flatter and shorter, defended off the back foot. Shahzad seems to be struggling a bit, might have a cramp on his hamstring. |
| 29.5 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, The batsman has punched the ball off the back foot. |
| 29.6 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, Drives this full ball down to long on and hobbles to the other end. |
| 30.1 : D Chahar to M Shahzad, SIX! Right in the slot and he puts it away too. What a hit. Full ball on middle and leg, Shahzad walks a step across and whips it over mid-wicket. Gets right under the ball and deposits it over the cow corner for half a dozen. |
| 30.2 : D Chahar to M Shahzad, Hits the deck hard and bowls a bouncer, on leg, Shahzad somehow manages to steer clear of the ball. |
| 30.3 : D Chahar to M Shahzad, Through the mid-wicket region again, but just a single comes off it. |
| 30.4 : D Chahar to M Nabi, Nabi tickles it fine as he gets one on the pads. One more run to the scoreboard. |
| 30.5 : D Chahar to M Shahzad, That's stung clearly. Shahzad misses the big pull as Chahar takes some of the pace off it. The ball raps him on the hips and he quickly walks away rubbing that same area. |
| 30.6 : D Chahar to M Shahzad, Bumper on middle and leg, no shot offered. |
| 31.1 : K Jadhav to M Nabi, Jadhav throws it full and wide outside off, Nabi hits it to the cover fielder. |
| 31.2 : K Jadhav to M Nabi, On middle and leg this time, Nabi tries to sweep but wears it on the pads. It was going down leg, so no real appeal made for leg before. |
| 31.3 : K Jadhav to M Nabi, Good stop by Jadeja. Nabi forces it towards mid on off the back foot but the all-rounder moves swiftly to his left from short mid-wicket and cuts it off. |
| 31.4 : K Jadhav to M Nabi, Smacks this one square towards point but finds the fielder there. |
| 31.5 : K Jadhav to M Nabi, The batsman has punched the ball off the back foot. One run added to the total. |
| 31.6 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, Another punch, down the ground to long off this time. Another run results. |
| Siddarth Kaul back on. |
| 32.1 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, Wide! A gentle loosener to begin a fresh spell. Hurls it on a length way wide outside off. Shahzad allows it through. |
| S Kaul to M Shahzad, Digs in a short delivery outside off, Shahzad stands back and cuts it in front of square on the off side. The ball races away to the deep and they take a single. |
| 32.2 : S Kaul to M Nabi, Back of a length ball on off, slower in pace and cutting back in, Nabi remains back and taps it down to point. |
| 32.3 : S Kaul to M Nabi, Short in length and on off, not enough pace to hurry up the batsman, Nabi easily gets on top of the bounce and pulls it to deep mid-wicket for a run. |
| 32.4 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, Well bowled. A wide yorker outside off, Shahzad tries to dig it out but is beaten for pace. |
| 32.5 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, A half-volley outside off, Shahzad keeps his weight on the back leg and hammers it down the ground. Finds mid off though. |
| 32.6 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, A bit of a comical attempt, this. Kaul serves a full toss outside off, Shahzad walks across the stumps to play a cute paddle shot but gets into an awkward position and only manages to push it as far as the short fine leg fielder. Completely off balance. |
| 33.1 : K Jadhav to M Nabi, Tossed up ball on middle, pushed to the left of mid-wicket. |
| 33.2 : K Jadhav to M Nabi, Goes on the back foot to a shortish ball and punches it towards cover-point. |
| 33.3 : K Jadhav to M Nabi, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 33.4 : K Jadhav to M Nabi, Loopy and on middle, helped with the spin to mid-wicket. Straight to the fielder this time. |
| 33.5 : K Jadhav to M Nabi, FOUR! Excellent shot! The length is a bit too full this time by Jadhav and Nabi goes down on one knee to play the sweep shot. Gets it away from the middle of his blade and sends it whistling to the backward square leg fence. |
| 33.6 : K Jadhav to M Nabi, Shortish and Nabi moves across and works it towards square leg for one. |
| Drinks are on the field. India continue to remain on top in this encounter, however, Afghanistan have fared a lot better than they were at the last drinks break. Mohammad Shahzad is going strong. He has completed his century and now holds the key. Afghanistan would hope that he lasts the distance and the lower order rallies around him. |
| 34.1 : S Kaul to M Nabi, Bouncer around off, Nabi sways away from the line. |
| 34.2 : S Kaul to M Nabi, Slower in pace and shorter in length, around off, Nabi picks it up and tries to play it late to find the gap on the off side. Although he ends up pushing it straight to the cover fielder. |
| 34.3 : S Kaul to M Nabi, A length ball angling into the batsman from around off, Nabi pushes it from the crease and manages to get it past the left side of the cover fielder. A run is taken. |
| 34.4 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, Eyes a yorker but ends up slipping in a low full toss. Shahzad moves back inside the crease and hits it out through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 34.5 : S Kaul to M Nabi, SIX! That has gone all the way! Kaul digs in a short ball and angles it into the batsman, Nabi shimmies down the track a bit and pulls it clinically over mid-wicket. There is a fielder in the deep but he can do nothing about it as the ball flies to his left. |
| 34.6 : S Kaul to M Nabi, Good length delivery outside off, Nabi pushes inside the line and gets it away off the outside half of the bat to third man. A single to end a 9-run over. |
| 35.1 : K Jadhav to M Nabi, Edged but safe! Full and around off, Nabi skips down the track to heave it over the leg side but it takes the outside edge and flies towards short third man. A single taken. |
| 35.2 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, FOUR! Takes a calculative risk and fetches a boundary. Flatter and fuller outside off, Shahzad steps back to make room and rockets it inside-out over cover-point. It's wide of the sweeper cover fielder and crosses the fence. |
| 35.3 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, Quicker this time, it's fired on middle, Shahzad once again steps back and then goes for the slog sweep. Connects nicely as well but finds the mid-wicket fielder inside the ring. |
| 35.4 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, Jadhav sees the batsman making room by moving down the leg side and follows. Shahzad still attempts to play a square cut but misses. |
| 35.5 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, Gets behind the line of the delivery and punches it back to the bowler. |
| 35.6 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, Flatter and on middle, punched down to long on for a run. |
| 36.1 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, Fullish and outside off, stroked through covers for one. |
| 36.2 : S Kaul to M Nabi, Full again, in line of the stumps, Nabi forces it down the ground but finds mid on. |
| 36.3 : S Kaul to M Nabi, Nabi opens the face of the bat and helps it to third man. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 36.4 : S Kaul to M Shahzad, Direct hit would have been curtains for Shahzad! Shortish delivery outside off, MS goes hard at it as he tries to slap it square of the wicket on the off side. But it catches the bottom edge of the bat and rolls to third man. His partner is interested in a run, Shahzad also is outside the crease but is ball-watching. Jadhav has a shy at the striker's end but misses. The ball now travels to long on and an overthrow results. |
| 36.5 : S Kaul to M Nabi, SIX! High and handsome! This one is served right in the slot for the batsman. Full and around off, Nabi attacks it with all his might and sends it packing over the bowler's head for a maximum. |
| The ball is lost. Nabi hit that at the sightscreen and it just went under it somewhere after that. So, the umpire has called for a replacement. |
| 36.6 : S Kaul to M Nabi, Nabi has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 37.1 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, Goes inside-out to a full ball and lofts it over covers for a run. |
| 37.2 : K Jadhav to M Nabi, Shortish and on middle, played from the back foot to mid-wicket. |
| 37.3 : K Jadhav to M Nabi, Flatter and shorter on off, punched down towards long on for a run. |
| 37.4 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, Fires it down the leg side, Shahzad moves back and attempts a big reverse heave. Connects but finds the cover fielder. |
| 37.5 : K Jadhav to M Shahzad, OUT! Shahzad holes out! The fun is over. But what a great knock by the wicketkeeper batsman. He walks back to a standing ovation from his teammates. Coming to the delivery, Jadhav probably senses the charge from the batsman. Hence, he serves it full and wide outside off. MS is down the track looking for a big shot but it's too wide of him and he has to reach out for it. As a result, it flies off the bottom half of the bat and Karthik moves across to his right from l |
| Najibullah Zadran walks in next. |
| 37.6 : K Jadhav to M Nabi, Shortish and on middle, played off the pads towards square. A successful over for India comes to an end. |
| Khaleel Ahmed is back on. |
| 38.1 : K Ahmed to N Zadran, Good length delivery close to off, Najibullah runs it down to short third man with a slightly open face. |
| 38.2 : K Ahmed to N Zadran, Similar ball, similar shot, to the same fielder. Dot ball. |
| 38.3 : K Ahmed to N Zadran, Cut late down to third man and Najibullah is off the mark with a run. |
| 38.4 : K Ahmed to M Nabi, Seaming back in from a good length, Nabi works it away towards the empty square leg area and takes one. |
| 38.5 : K Ahmed to N Zadran, Outside off, on a length once again, chopped away from inside the crease through point. A couple of runs taken. |
| 38.6 : K Ahmed to N Zadran, Forces it on the off side for a single. |
| Kuldeep Yadav is brought back into the attack. He has two wickets in the 6 overs bowled, so far. |
| 39.1 : K Yadav to M Nabi, Shout for an lbw! Not given. Loopy and full landing outside off. It spins back in as the batsman tries to sweep. Misses to get hit on the pads, they appeal but the umpire shakes his head. Impact clearly outside off. |
| 39.2 : K Yadav to M Nabi, Tossed up ball on off, fuller in length, Nabi lunges and defends. |
| 39.3 : K Yadav to M Nabi, Gets down on one knee and sweeps it behind square leg for a run. |
| 39.4 : K Yadav to N Zadran, FOUR! Misfield! Poor by Khaleel there. But a fine shot by Zadran. He brings out the reverse sweep and goes with the spin. Gets it from the middle of the bat and it races towards short fine leg where Khaleel makes a complete mess. Afghanistan won't mind this at all. |
| 39.5 : K Yadav to N Zadran, Flighted and on off, defended off the front foot. |
| 39.6 : K Yadav to N Zadran, Slower in pace, a googly. It spins away after landing around off and Zadran is beaten on his forward defensive prod. |
| Powerplay 3 signalled. A maximum of 5 fielders will be allowed outside the 30-yard circle till the end of the innings. |
| 40.1 : K Ahmed to M Nabi, From around the wicket, it's a length ball outside off, Nabi with an open face pushes it to point. |
| 40.2 : K Ahmed to M Nabi, Moves a step across and gets inside the line of this short delivery, before pulling it along the ground in front of square leg for a single. |
| 40.3 : K Ahmed to N Zadran, Over the wicket to Najibullah, outside off and the southpaw works it to third man for one more. |
| 40.4 : K Ahmed to M Nabi, FOUR! Around the wicket again and it's a boundary. Khaleel bowls it full on off, it's angling in but Nabi is well on top of this one. Stays right behind the line and drives it ever so well through the gap in the covers for a boundary. |
| 40.5 : K Ahmed to M Nabi, Cutting back in, worked into the leg side for a single. |
| 40.6 : K Ahmed to N Zadran, Switches the angle for Zadran and pitches it around off on a length, defended down on the off side to end the over. |
| Kuldeep Yadav continues from this end. |
| 41.1 : K Yadav to M Nabi, Nabi does well here. Gets low fast seeing the ball tossed up and sweeps it fine down the leg side, getting it past Dhoni. Both batsmen run hard and manage to take the third one as well. Good running between the wickets. |
| 41.2 : K Yadav to N Zadran, Najibullah with the reverse sweep and it's placed very well. Behind square on the off side and once again the batsmen run hard. They see the third run is on and complete it again. Superb. The 200 is up for Afghanistan. |
| 41.3 : K Yadav to M Nabi, Outside off, Nabi fails to put bat on ball. |
| 41.4 : K Yadav to M Nabi, SIX! 12 off the over already. A big one for Afghanistan and it can become bigger with 2 balls to spare. Kuldeep loops it up outside off and Nabi doesn't hold anything back. Gives it the full swing of his bat and clears mid-wicket with absolute ease. |
| 41.5 : K Yadav to M Nabi, Full ball attacking the stumps, swept in front of square on the leg side for one. |
| 41.6 : K Yadav to N Zadran, FOUR! 17 off the over. A super expensive one from Kuldeep. Zadran does well to get forward and across. Kneels down and sweeps it through backward square leg for a boundary. |
| Ravindra Jadeja is back again. |
| 42.1 : R Jadeja to M Nabi, Darts it quick and flat outside off, punched through the covers for a run. |
| 42.2 : R Jadeja to N Zadran, It's again outside off, Zadran pushes it away towards cover-point. No run taken though. |
| 42.3 : R Jadeja to N Zadran, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 42.4 : R Jadeja to N Zadran, Turning into the left-hander, Najibullah plays it with the spin and flicks it through the mid-wicket region for a couple of runs. |
| 42.5 : R Jadeja to N Zadran, The southpaw stands tall and punches it just wide of the substitute Chahal at cover for a single. |
| 42.6 : R Jadeja to M Nabi, FOUR! Moves to 49 with this. Excellent knock so far from Mohammad Nabi. He hangs back to this shorter delivery and punches it hard wide of sweeper cover to find the fence. |
| 43.1 : K Yadav to N Zadran, Short and wide, Zadran rocks onto the back foot and cuts it square through point for one run. |
| 43.2 : K Yadav to M Nabi, Nabi sweeps it away on the leg side. Wants the single but is sent back. |
| 43.3 : K Yadav to M Nabi, 12th ODI fifty for Mohammad Nabi! Off just 45 deliveries too. This has been superb work from him. Comes so low down the order but still gets the job done for his side. He gets low and sweeps it behind square leg for a couple. |
| 43.4 : K Yadav to M Nabi, The batsman plays a sweep shot through backward square leg. They pick up a single. |
| 43.5 : K Yadav to N Zadran, Yadav loops it right up there, on the stumps, it's played back to the bowler. |
| 43.6 : K Yadav to N Zadran, Quite full and extremely loopy outside off, drilled down to long off by Zadran for a run. |
| Review taken. Najibullah has been given leg before but he's challenged the decision here. Looks out to the naked eye. Let's see... |
| 44.1 : R Jadeja to N Zadran, OUT! A 3-fer for Jadeja! The on-field call stays. He comes from over the wicket and it spins in from around off, Zadran brings out the reverse sweep but fails to connect. Is caught around the hips but since he's got low to play, height isn't an issue. The appeal goes up and so does the finger. The southpaw reviews and replays show that he's dead plumb. Nothing saves him. A good stand though, was worth 46 off 38. |
| 0.0 : Rashid Khan strides out to bat. |
| 44.2 : R Jadeja to R Khan, From around the wicket, it's full outside off, Rashid pushes it to covers off the front foot. |
| 44.3 : R Jadeja to R Khan, Sharp turn for Jadeja. Lands it around off and it goes away, Khan tries to put bat on ball but gets beaten. |
| 44.4 : R Jadeja to R Khan, The batsman was beaten and missed the line of the delivery. |
| 44.5 : R Jadeja to R Khan, Driven well through the covers for an easy double. Rashid is off the mark. |
| 44.6 : R Jadeja to R Khan, Stays right behind the line and keeps it out to end the over. |
| 45.1 : K Yadav to M Nabi, Turning away from the batsman, it's on the shorter side and the batsman rocks back to slap it towards sweeper cover for a single. |
| 45.2 : K Yadav to R Khan, Full and flighted on middle, Nabi is on the front foot as he defends it quietly on the off side. |
| 45.3 : K Yadav to M Nabi, Very full and outside off, driven firmly through the line but found the cover fielder inside the ring. |
| 45.4 : K Yadav to M Nabi, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 45.5 : K Yadav to M Nabi, Spinning away from the batsman, again on the short side, Nabi hits it through cover-point for one. |
| 45.6 : K Yadav to R Khan, Turning back into the batsman from around off, it's forced off the back foot back towards the bowler. 3 off Kuldeep's last over, he finishes with figures of 10-0-38-2! |
| Siddarth Kaul comes back on to have a go with the ball. |
| 46.1 : S Kaul to M Nabi, SIX! Right out of the screws, that one. Wow! What a phenomenal hit. Kaul goes full and attacks the stumps, Nabi throws his front leg out of the way, gets right under the ball and smokes it high into the night sky. Has the distance on it too as it sails deep into the mid-wicket stands. |
| 46.2 : S Kaul to M Nabi, Goes square this time. Places it through point and gets to the other end. |
| 46.3 : S Kaul to R Khan, On the shorter side of things, pulled towards deep mid-wicket for a run. |
| 46.4 : S Kaul to M Nabi, Nabi drives it through the covers and takes off. Karthik gets to the ball, collects and tries to score a direct hit at the bowler's end. He misses and there's nobody backing up, so the batsmen take an extra run. Poor from the Indians. You expect much better standards from them. |
| 46.5 : S Kaul to M Nabi, Quite full again, hit down to long on for a single. |
| 46.6 : S Kaul to R Khan, Fuller around off, Rashid looks to put bat on ball. Gets an inside edge onto his pads and the batsmen steal a single. |
| Khaleel Ahmed back on. |
| 47.1 : K Ahmed to R Khan, Angling back in from around off, on a good length, run down to third man for a run. |
| 47.2 : K Ahmed to M Nabi, Swing and a miss from Nabi. Short of length around off, the slower one, Nabi swings too early and misses. |
| 47.3 : K Ahmed to M Nabi, OUT! Good bowling brings an end to a very good knock from Mohammad Nabi. Khaleel continues from around the wicket and bowls a slower one full in length on the stumps. Nabi doesn't pick it up and ends up playing the lofted shot too early. Chips it in the extra cover region and two fielders converge to take this - Kuldeep from cover and Karthik from mid off. No calling whatsoever and the former takes it as they both collide. Could have just as easily dropped it, but nicely |
| Aftab Alam to bat next. |
| 47.4 : K Ahmed to R Khan, Fuller outside off, Rashid plays at it away from his body and it takes the edge. Dhoni dives to right but can't stop it. A single is taken. |
| 47.5 : K Ahmed to A Alam, Alam has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 47.6 : K Ahmed to A Alam, Length ball on leg, sliding down, catches Alam on the pads. |
| Rashid Khan is seen getting some treatment from the physio. Some issue with him hamstring from the looks of it. Seems alright though to continue. |
| 48.1 : S Kaul to R Khan, Full delivery speared outside off, Rashid drills it to cover. Alam takes off but he sends him back. Wants to keep the strike. |
| 48.2 : S Kaul to R Khan, Kaul spears a wide yorker outside off, Khan drills it square through point. Runs the first one hard, wants the second but won't get it as the fielder in the deep is quick to the ball. |
| 48.3 : S Kaul to A Alam, Good bowling. Kaul gets the yorker spot on as he bowls this in line of the stumps, Alam just about manages to dig it out off the inner portion. Wants the run, but is rightly sent back by his partner. |
| 48.4 : S Kaul to A Alam, Drills the yorker down the ground to long off for an easy run. |
| Change of bat for Rashid Khan. |
| 48.5 : S Kaul to R Khan, Full again, attacking the stumps, whacked down the ground, but on the other side this time. Single taken. |
| 48.6 : S Kaul to A Alam, Excellent over. Just 3 runs from it. Yorker wide outside off, Aftab Alam can't reach out to it and make connection. |
| 49.1 : K Ahmed to R Khan, Slower in pace on a back of a length, Khan backs away and lofts it towards long on as he runs to the other end. |
| 49.2 : K Ahmed to A Alam, Full outside off, driven to covers by Aftab Alam to rotate strike. And that brings the 250 up for Afghanistan. |
| 49.3 : K Ahmed to R Khan, Dot ball. Good bowling. Back of a length around off, Rashid can't put it away like he wants to on the off side. |
| Direct hit. Has Rashid Khan made it back? Dhoni doesn't seem too confident. |
| 49.4 : K Ahmed to R Khan, Safe! Just. Khan hits it towards long on and quickly calls for the second. The throw comes in from the deep at Dhoni's end and a direct hit is scored. Seems safe, but it's taken upstairs by the square leg umpire. Replays show Rashid is in by a narrow margin. |
| 49.5 : K Ahmed to R Khan, Rashid pulls it to deep mid-wicket but doesn't take the single as he's seen catching his hamstring again. Clearly struggling. |
| 49.6 : K Ahmed to R Khan, Short of a good length going across, Rashid just swings hoping to connect but can't manage to do that. So with that, AFGHANISTAN FINISH ON 252/8! |
| A challenging score posted up on the board by Afghanistan after the slump in the middle overs. Electing to bat, Shahzad went crazy as he was middling the ball like it was nobody's business. Others fell around him after the end of Powerplay 1, as wickets were lost in clumps, but the opener kept on powering along. He later found allies from the lower middle order as he made two good stands with Naib and Nabi, eventually scoring a fine ton. Nabi carried on making a well-crafted fifty and some finis |
| It was a mixed bag for the Indian bowlers in terms of performance today. The pacers went for runs but the spinners did well. Jadeja, in particular, as he stood out with a 3-wicket haul. Kuldeep was economical and bagged 2 for himself in his first spell, but the rest couldn't produce a similar performance. What will sting them the most is the fact that after reducing the Afghans to 82/4, they couldn't capitalize on that and finish things off earlier. |
| Mohammad Shahzad, the star of the match, so far, gives a quick interview to Ramiz Raja. He starts by thanking the Almighty and says that he knows the conditions here quite well and is happy with his knock. Reckons that the conditions are demanding and he was focused on playing his natural game. Adds that everyday he comes with the intention to make it his day. Also mentions that he was aware of the changes made by India and his plan was to attack the new bowlers. States that there are world clas |
| Afghanistan are in a good position and they've shown they do have a good bowling attack, but questions arise as to whether Rashid Khan will come out and bowl. He was struggling quite a lot and was even unable to run towards the end while batting. For India, a good start will be important as the wicket is offering turn and will will also play slow as the game goes on. Join us on the other side of the break for the second half of this game. |
| 0.0 : Back for the run chase. The Afghanistan team is in a huddle currently. KL Rahul and Ambati Rayudu are the designated openers for India today. 252 needed off 300 legal deliveries. The start against the new balls very crucial, for both teams. It's going to be Aftab Alam to begin proceedings with the first new nut. A slip in place. Here we go... |
| 0.1 : A Alam to L Rahul, FOUR! Starts off in the best possible starts. Carrying on from where he left off at The Oval. Short and wide outside off, Rahul rises on his toes and cuts this perfectly past point. No chance of stopping that, it's hit so well. |
| 0.2 : A Alam to L Rahul, Cutting back in on middle and leg, defended away on the leg side for nothing. |
| 0.3 : A Alam to L Rahul, On a good length targetting the off stick, KL sticks inside the crease and blocks it with the full face of the bat. |
| 0.4 : A Alam to L Rahul, Angling in on middle and leg, wristed down to fine leg for a single. |
| 0.5 : A Alam to A Rayudu, Rayudu is off the mark without wasting any time. Moves inside the line and readies himself for the pull. Places it fine down the leg side. The fielder from fine leg rushes to his right and cuts it off with a slide. One run taken. |
| 0.6 : A Alam to L Rahul, FOUR LEG BYES! Sprays it down leg and pays the price. A length delivery, Rahul looks to flick but misses. He gets it off the thigh pad though and beats the diving keeper to the fine leg fence. 10 from the opening over. |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman to bowl from the other end with the second new ball. Meanwhile, Rashid Khan has not taken the field. He was seen struggling with his hamstring while batting and it seems Khan has not recovered fully. Will be a big blow to Afghanistan if the leggie doesn't turn up to bowl. |
| 1.1 : Ur Rahman to A Rayudu, Full on middle and leg, Rayudu looks to flick but it goes off his pads and falls on the leg side. |
| 1.2 : Ur Rahman to A Rayudu, Fuller outside off, not much spin on it, pushed to covers but can't beat the fielder there. |
| 1.3 : Ur Rahman to A Rayudu, Spinning in on leg, Rayudu picks it off his pads and turns it through backward square leg for a run. |
| 1.4 : Ur Rahman to L Rahul, Some nice drift into the batsman from around off. Rahul skips down to push it through the covers but gets an inside edge onto his pads instead. |
| 1.5 : Ur Rahman to L Rahul, Plants his front foot forward and eases it down towards wide mid on. One run collected. |
| 1.6 : Ur Rahman to A Rayudu, Blocked solidly. Ambati taps this full ball outside off square on the off side. |
| 2.1 : A Alam to L Rahul, Hurls it well outside off, on a back of a length, glided just wide of backward point. A single is taken. |
| 2.2 : A Alam to A Rayudu, Skidding off the surface as it's pitched close to off, blocked from inside the crease. |
| 2.3 : A Alam to A Rayudu, Rayudu places himself perfectly behind the line and meets the ball with a straight blade in response. |
| 2.4 : A Alam to A Rayudu, SIX! Take a bow, Ambati Rayudu! That's a terrific shot. Has enough of the blocks and decides to give the charge. There's width available outside off, so he uses the pace and carves it over the infield on the off side. Clears the cover boundary and that's a maximum. |
| 2.5 : A Alam to A Rayudu, Stump-to-stump line from Alam, doesn't allow Rayudu much room and forces him to guard this out. |
| 2.6 : A Alam to A Rayudu, Goes fuller, shapes it back in from around off, a mistimed drive from the inner half finds its way back to the bowler. |
| 3.1 : Ur Rahman to L Rahul, Straighter one on off, forced away in front of cover. |
| 3.2 : Ur Rahman to L Rahul, Rahul comes ahead to this one and pushes it back to the bowler. |
| 3.3 : Ur Rahman to L Rahul, A lot of drift in on middle and leg, worked away with a closed face from the front foot. |
| 3.4 : Ur Rahman to L Rahul, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 3.5 : Ur Rahman to L Rahul, The flipper from Mujeeb, on off, KL meets it with a defensive bat. |
| 3.6 : Ur Rahman to L Rahul, Coming in on off then straightening up, takes the leading edge and falls safely towards cover. |
| 4.1 : A Alam to A Rayudu, Rayudu uses the angle into him well to flick this through mid-wicket. Gets an easy single. Was full in length and Alam came from wide of the crease. |
| 4.2 : A Alam to L Rahul, Play and a miss! Short of a good length rising off the deck, Rahul sticks back to punch it on the up through the covers but misses it completely. |
| 4.3 : A Alam to L Rahul, An appeal from the Afghans but the umpire isn't interested. They think of the DRS too but refrain from it. They feels there's an edge, but good call not to take it upstairs. Length ball outside off, Rahul cuts at it and misses. |
| 4.4 : A Alam to L Rahul, Full outside off, driven to the cover fielder. |
| A direct hit and it's taken upstairs. But Rahul seems to be in comfortably... |
| 4.5 : A Alam to L Rahul, Not out! He's in by a long mile, almost crossed the stump line there. KL taps this towards mid off and takes off. There's a throw at the bowler's end and a direct hit is scored. Big appeal for a run out and the umpire checks it upstairs. Replays show he's fine. |
| 4.6 : A Alam to A Rayudu, Low full toss swinging in on middle, Rayudu slogs it off the inner half through mid-wicket and retains strike with a single. |
| 5.1 : Ur Rahman to A Rayudu, Quicker and shorter around off, kept out off the back foot. |
| 5.2 : Ur Rahman to A Rayudu, Landed shorter but Ambati skips down to this. Both bat and pad are involved but the umpire denies the appeal for a leg before. Too far down the track so that's probably why. Eventually it's driven to mid off for one. |
| 5.3 : Ur Rahman to L Rahul, Good effort from Nabi. Saved a certain boundary. Rahul pushes it to the left of mid off where the fielder dives and stop it. The batsmen can only take a single. |
| 5.4 : Ur Rahman to A Rayudu, FOUR! Once again Rayudu picks up a boundary. It's full around off, he gives it the full swing of the bat and clears mid off with ease. Then, it's just a mere formality as the ball races to the boundary. |
| 5.5 : Ur Rahman to A Rayudu, Rayudu shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 5.6 : Ur Rahman to A Rayudu, Hangs inside the crease and blocks it out again. |
| 6.1 : A Alam to L Rahul, Almost could have chopped it back on. Too close to cut as it's coming in on a length, the ball takes the inside edge and goes off the thigh behind. Rahul is lucky is rolls beside the off stump. |
| 6.2 : A Alam to L Rahul, Room offered outside off, run down to third man for a run. |
| 6.3 : A Alam to A Rayudu, FOUR! On the leg side this time but the result is the same. Full ball attacking the stumps, angling in, Rayudu slogs it between mid-wicket and mid on and finds the gap well. It's hit well and goes to the boundary in a jiffy. |
| 6.4 : A Alam to A Rayudu, Back of a length rising off the surface, the batsman can't connect. |
| 6.5 : A Alam to A Rayudu, FOUR! Room on offer and Rayudu makes Alam pay. Length ball wide outside off, he flays it through point. In the gap and that's another one which has gone to the fence like a rocket. |
| 6.6 : A Alam to A Rayudu, Attacks the top of off stump, it's a length delivery, tapped down in front of point. |
| Rashid Khan is finally on the field. He cannot bowl for another 7 overs or the next 30 minutes, whichever comes first. |
| 7.1 : Ur Rahman to L Rahul, Skidding off the surface as it goes on straight, driven to mid on. |
| 7.2 : Ur Rahman to L Rahul, The batsman dances down the track and does well to block the ball back to the bowler. |
| 7.3 : Ur Rahman to L Rahul, A loopy full toss, Rahul hits it toi mid off and takes a quick single. Missed out there, he knows it. Should have sent it to the boundary line. |
| 7.4 : Ur Rahman to A Rayudu, Run out chance goes abegging! Rayudu works this to short fine leg and both batsmen are off for the run. The fielder gets to the ball and throws it at the bowler's end. Wrong choice, should have fired it to Shahzad as Rahul would have been in some serious danger. |
| 7.5 : Ur Rahman to L Rahul, Stays deep inside the crease and tamely pushes it to point. |
| 7.6 : Ur Rahman to L Rahul, Driven towards the mid on region. They pick up a single. |
| Gulbadin Naib to bowl. First change for Afghanistan. |
| 8.1 : G Naib to L Rahul, FOUR! Shot. Timing from KL Rahul. That'll make him feel a lot better. Angling in on middle and leg, full length ball, Rahul flicks it well through the right of the mid on fielder. The man there doesn't even bother trying to chase it down. Super shot. |
| 8.2 : G Naib to L Rahul, Length ball in the off stump channel, blocked out from the back foot. |
| 8.3 : G Naib to L Rahul, FOUR! Missed out on the previous freebie he got, doesn't do so this time. Full toss outside off, Rahul drives it neatly through the gap in the covers. A boundary results. |
| 8.4 : G Naib to L Rahul, Quite full, shaping in on the pads, flicked in front of square leg. |
| A cute moment after the completion of the last over. Shikhar Dhawan was out on the field with the drinks and also wiped off Rayudu's face under the helmet. |
| 8.5 : G Naib to L Rahul, Tap and run stuff. This is good stuff from this pair. Rahul plays this down in front of point and the two batsmen are off in a flash. Complete the run quickly so the direct hit at the keeper's end doesn't matter. |
| 8.6 : G Naib to A Rayudu, SIX! And the 50 is up for India. Brought up in some style too. Just ahead of a length on the stumps, Rayudu stays leg side of this and throws the kitchen sink at it. Connects well and clears long on without any trouble. 15 off the over, a big one for India. |
| 9.1 : Ur Rahman to L Rahul, Fullish in length and close to off, blocked out safely. |
| 9.2 : Ur Rahman to L Rahul, SIX! Wow! Quite smart from KL. Anticipated the ball to land full, so opened his body up and went inside out over covers. Got enough on it to clear the cover fence with ease. Well played. |
| 9.3 : Ur Rahman to L Rahul, Fuller around off, Rahul moves across and chips it over mid-wicket. Doesn't time it all that well, but there's nobody in the deep so the batsmen are able to take the third. |
| 9.4 : Ur Rahman to A Rayudu, Quicker one on the stumps, Rayudu looks to sweep but gets an inside edge onto the pads. |
| 9.5 : Ur Rahman to A Rayudu, Played through mid-wicket by the batsman. Dot ball. |
| 9.6 : Ur Rahman to A Rayudu, Full on leg, swept down to short fine leg. Another dot to end the over but despite that, India have still have the highest score in Powerplay 1. They finish with 64 on the board without the loss of a single wicket. |
| Powerplay 2 signalled. A maximum of 4 fielders will be allowed outside the ring till the end of the 40th over. |
| 10.1 : G Naib to L Rahul, Too straight in line, flicked through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 10.2 : G Naib to A Rayudu, Full and wide outside off, Ambati shapes up for the cover drive and gets it through the gap to the sweeper. A single results. |
| 10.3 : G Naib to L Rahul, Through the covers again, another run to the total. |
| 10.4 : G Naib to A Rayudu, Seeing Rayudu give the charge, Naib takes the pace off it. Clever stuff, as it leaves the batsman with no choice but to block it. |
| 10.5 : G Naib to A Rayudu, Rayudu yet again is out of the crease and blocks on the off side. Wants the run but then has the sense to retreat in time. |
| 10.6 : G Naib to A Rayudu, SIX! A connection as sweet as a Rasgulla from Kolkata. Rayudu jumps out of the crease to this full ball on the stumps and with a simple extension of the arms, lofts it cleanly over long off for a maximum. |
| Mohammad Nabi introduced into the attack. |
| 11.1 : M Nabi to L Rahul, Turning in on middle and leg, quicker in pace, KL is on the back foot as he plays it down on the leg side. Takes a quick single as well. |
| 11.2 : M Nabi to A Rayudu, Goes with the spin and turns it in front of square on the leg side for a run. |
| 11.3 : M Nabi to L Rahul, Full and straight from Nabi, flicked to short mid-wicket. |
| 11.4 : M Nabi to L Rahul, Rahul makes good use of his feet to get close to the pitch and wrists it down to long on for one more. |
| 11.5 : M Nabi to A Rayudu, Short and spinning in from outside off, it's punched back in the bowler's direction. |
| 11.6 : M Nabi to A Rayudu, Straighter one outside the line of off stump, dabbed with an open face square on the off side. |
| 12.1 : G Naib to L Rahul, Good running between the wickets. Rahul taps it down on the off side right beside him and both batsmen communicate early and complete the run with ease. |
| 12.2 : G Naib to A Rayudu, Naib bowls the slower one, but Rayudu is watchful and picks it up early. Taps it behind point and crosses over. |
| 12.3 : G Naib to L Rahul, Behind a length on off, punched on the up to cover. Ambati wants the run, but is correctly asked to go back by his partner. |
| 12.4 : G Naib to L Rahul, Superb connection from Rahul but he's unfortunate that he hit it right back at the bowler. Drives this full ball down the track and it goes off Naib's right leg and deflects towards covers. A single results. |
| 12.5 : G Naib to A Rayudu, The batsman has punched that ball through the off side. |
| 12.6 : G Naib to A Rayudu, Drives this down the ground towards mid on and a single is collected. |
| 13.1 : M Nabi to A Rayudu, Comes down the track and meets the ball with a defensive shot in response. |
| 13.2 : M Nabi to A Rayudu, Has his dancing shoes on again. Gets close to the pitch and knocks it down to long on for a single. |
| 13.3 : M Nabi to L Rahul, Flicked with the spin through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 13.4 : M Nabi to A Rayudu, The batsman has played it to the point region. One run added to the total. |
| Another direct hit! But seems Rayudu is safe, at least to the naked eye. Over to the third umpire now... |
| 13.5 : M Nabi to L Rahul, Safe! Rayudu is well in. Not sure why the umpire wanted to check it upstairs. Rahul comes down the track and mistimes the loft over mid-wicket. Big gap out there, so the duo decides to come back for the second. The fielder out in the deep fires a throw at the non-striker's end and scores a direct hit as Ambati slides his bat in. Seems safe as it is, but the umpire wants to be sure. Replays confirm the same. |
| 13.6 : M Nabi to L Rahul, Punches this short ball through the gap on the off side for a single. |
| 14.1 : G Naib to L Rahul, Pushes the length ball through the gap in the covers for a single. |
| 14.2 : G Naib to A Rayudu, Fuller on the stumps, Rayudu with a high elbow drives it to mid on and gets to the other end. |
| 14.3 : G Naib to L Rahul, FOUR! Lovely. One for the cameras, that. Rahul holds the pose after playing the shot. Full on middle and off, it's lofted ever so well over wide long off and it goes across the fence on the bounce. |
| 14.4 : G Naib to L Rahul, Sensible stuff. Scores a boundary, then rotates the strike. Works it through mid-wicket for one run. |
| 14.5 : G Naib to A Rayudu, Flicked once more, but straight to short mid-wicket this time. |
| 14.6 : G Naib to A Rayudu, SIX! BANG! Out of here! Rayudu may not be a big fella, but he can sure generate a lot of power. Short ball in line of the stumps, Ambati muscles the pull over mid-wicket and sends it into the 2nd tier over mid-wicket. |
| 15.1 : M Nabi to L Rahul, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 15.2 : M Nabi to L Rahul, The 100 comes up for India. Back-to-back opening century stands for them in this tournament. It's also their 100th century opening stand in ODIs. Rahul goes back and cuts it through towards deep point for a single. |
| 15.3 : M Nabi to A Rayudu, 8th ODI fifty for Ambati Rayudu! He's made the most of his promotion up the order. Just flicks this through mid-wicket and jogs across to the other end. He's set now, will want to convert it into a big one. |
| 15.4 : M Nabi to L Rahul, Driven through mid off by KL. One run to the scoreboard. |
| 15.5 : M Nabi to A Rayudu, Slanting across from around the wicket, pushed to covers but straight to the fielder. |
| 15.6 : M Nabi to A Rayudu, A firm smack from Rayudu as he goes back and punches it through covers for a single. |
| Rashid Khan into the attack. His spell, like on most occasions, could hold the key for Afghanistan. A slip in place for him. |
| 16.1 : R Khan to A Rayudu, Tossed up outside off, eased back down to long off for one. |
| 16.2 : R Khan to L Rahul, Played to the point region by the batsman. They pick up a single. |
| 16.3 : R Khan to A Rayudu, FOUR! Picks up the googly to perfection. Full on off, Rayudu gets low and brings out the big slog sweep. Lifts it over mid-wicket and finds the fence. |
| 16.4 : R Khan to A Rayudu, Quicker one outside off, forced down to long off for a run. |
| 16.5 : R Khan to L Rahul, Quicker through the air again, stays back to this one and steers it to backward point. |
| 16.6 : R Khan to L Rahul, Comes forward and guards it out safely by keeping bat and pad close together. |
| 17.1 : M Nabi to A Rayudu, OUT! GONE! Afghanistan have their first breakthrough of the evening. Nabi comes from around the wicket and floats it up on the stumps, Rayudu gives the charge and tries to clear long on. Gets a lot of height but not enough elevation and as a result, it goes straight down Najibullah's throat. He takes it well and that's the end for Rayudu. He departs, but not before playing a superb knock. |
| 0.0 : Drinks break. India have clearly been on top but that wicket of Rayudu at the stroke of the break would certainly give the Afghans something to smile about. Now, if they can pick up a wicket or two more and make further inroads, things could just get a little interesting. Also, Dinesh Karthik walks in next to bat. |
| 17.2 : M Nabi to L Rahul, HALF CENTURY FOR RAHUL NOW! Just his second ODI Fifty. That is because of the lack of opportunities he has got in his career. A tad short, Rahul goes back and works it through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 17.3 : M Nabi to D Karthik, The batsman works it down the leg side. They pick up a single. DK is off the mark as well. |
| 17.4 : M Nabi to L Rahul, The batsman has punched that ball through the off side. |
| 17.5 : M Nabi to L Rahul, Full on middle, driven down the ground for a couple. |
| 17.6 : M Nabi to L Rahul, The batsman failed to make contact and was hit low on the pads. |
| 18.1 : R Khan to D Karthik, Very full on middle and leg, flicked towards short fine leg. Karthik wants a single but is sent back. |
| 18.2 : R Khan to D Karthik, Outside off, watchfully defended towards cover. |
| 18.3 : R Khan to D Karthik, Action replay of the previous delivery. |
| Like Mohammad Shahzad's confidence behind the wickets. He deliberately shouts in English - 'ANOTHER ONE COMING, BOYS!!!' |
| 18.4 : R Khan to D Karthik, Was there an inside edge involved? Not quite sure. The googly, on leg stump, Karthik looks to flick but the ball lobs off the pads. Does not carry to short fine leg. |
| 18.5 : R Khan to D Karthik, The batsman fails to get bat on that one and is hit on the pad. |
| 18.6 : R Khan to D Karthik, FOUR! Dragged short, on middle, Karthik rocks back and pulls it over mid-wicket for a boundary! |
| 19.1 : M Nabi to L Rahul, On middle and off, Rahul comes down the track and defends it towards cover. |
| 19.2 : M Nabi to L Rahul, FOUR! He will play plenty of these shots. Full and outside off, Rahul gets his broom out and reverse sweeps it past short third man. The stand is worth 12 from 13 balls. |
| 19.3 : M Nabi to L Rahul, Good batting. After the boundary on the previous ball, Rahul does not get greedy. Pats this one behind point and crosses over. |
| 19.4 : M Nabi to D Karthik, Full and around off, flicked towards deep mid-wicket for a run. 129 more to win from 182 balls. |
| 19.5 : M Nabi to L Rahul, Full and outside off, KL looks to flick but the ball goes off the inner half of the bat, onto his pads, then deflecting towards short fine leg. |
| Four? Or a good stop? Referred upstairs... |
| 19.6 : M Nabi to L Rahul, A terrific effort. First of all, some luck for Rahul. He comes down the track and looks to go big, but is nowhere near the pitch of the ball. He is beaten by the spin and is gone for all money. But luckily for him, the ball goes off the inside edge, misses the leg stump and rolls towards the fine leg fence. Now comes the role of the fielder. Aftab Alam gives it a good chase from short fine leg and at the opportune time, puts in a full length dive. Pulls the ball back in |
| 20.1 : R Khan to L Rahul, Full and around off, skids in, the googly it is, Rahul defends in a hurry. |
| 0.0 : Now, a stumping appeal, referred upstairs. Looks in... |
| 20.2 : R Khan to L Rahul, SAFE. But it was a close call. Full and outside off, Rahul looked to defend but the ball went past the outside edge. Shahzad demolished the stumps, sending the bails flying almost towards the square leg umpire. He then appeals for the stumping. From the first look, it looks pretty simple. But when it is seen from the stump camera, it looks like Rahul's foot is on the line. The benefit of doubt, if we might add, goes to the batsman. |
| Another one for the third umpire! This time it is by the batsman. Rahul has been adjudged LBW. Looks plumb, but let's see. |
| 20.3 : R Khan to L Rahul, OUT! Plumb as it gets and Rahul is gone. The leg spinner this time, Rahul goes for the reverse sweep but misses and is hit right in front. Seems dead and is ruled out by the onfield umpire. But for some reason, Rahul wants to have it reviewed. The replays roll in. First the no ball check. Safe. Second, the presence of wood or glove. None. Third, Hawk Eye. Pitched outside off, hitting line and going on to hit the stumps. India exhaust or rather, waste their only review. F |
| Mahendra Singh Dhoni walks in at number 4, replacing Rahul. |
| 20.4 : R Khan to MS Dhoni, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 20.5 : R Khan to MS Dhoni, Punched down to long on for a single. |
| 20.6 : R Khan to D Karthik, The batsman has played it fine down the leg side. |
| 21.1 : M Nabi to MS Dhoni, Full and outside off, Dhoni looks to flick but the ball drifts in, takes the leading edge and goes to short third man. |
| 21.2 : M Nabi to MS Dhoni, Pitched around off, spinning in, Dhoni looks to work it to the leg side but misses and is hit on the pads. Nabi appeals for LBW but is not given. Perhaps height was the fracture. |
| 21.3 : M Nabi to MS Dhoni, Another LBW appeal. Not out again. Full and outside off, Dhoni comes down the track and looks to flick but misses. The ball hits his pads and the bowler appeals once more. Hawk Eye shows the ball to be hitting the stumps with the impact to be umpire's call. So close. |
| Mynameissohail - 'Hi! Did anyone notice that there are three keepers in the middle? MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik and Mohammad Shahzad!' @mynameissohail - Yup, spot on. Only, even before Dhoni arrived, there were three keepers. Rahul can keep too. And there is one to follow in 'ALL-ROUNDER' Kedar Jadhav. |
| 21.4 : M Nabi to D Karthik, Played to the mid-wicket region by the batsman. The batsmen have picked up a couple of runs. |
| 21.5 : M Nabi to D Karthik, Outside off, dabbed to short third man. |
| 21.6 : M Nabi to D Karthik, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 22.1 : R Khan to MS Dhoni, Full and flighted outside off, Dhoni stretches forward and drives it back to the bowler. |
| 22.2 : R Khan to MS Dhoni, A wrong 'un, landing on middle and turning down, Dhoni moves back and works it off the inner half of the bat to deep mid-wicket for a run. |
| 22.3 : R Khan to D Karthik, Bowls it seam up. Drops it short on middle at 97 kph, Karthik rocks back and hits it down to long on for one. |
| 22.4 : R Khan to MS Dhoni, Wrong length again by Rashid. A long hop wide outside off and it's been slapped square of the wicket on the off side for a single. |
| 22.5 : R Khan to D Karthik, Picks the googly and turns it off his pads to backward square leg. Looks for a run but is sent back by MSD. |
| 22.6 : R Khan to D Karthik, Beauty to beat the bat! Flighted and full around off, spinning away slightly, Karthik commits himself on the front foot as tries to defend but is beaten by the away spin. The keeper is quick to take the bails off but nothing doing. |
| Javed Ahmadi comes on to bowl. Does not seem to be a regular. He opened the batting today. Is now bowling off-breaks. Has picked up 7 wickets in 14 ODI innings. |
| 23.1 : J Ahmadi to MS Dhoni, Full and outside off, wristed towards long on for a single. |
| 23.2 : J Ahmadi to D Karthik, A tad short, outside off, Karthik backs away to the leg side, allows the ball to spin and then punches it through the covers for a run. Moves to 10 from 16 balls. |
| 23.3 : J Ahmadi to MS Dhoni, Comes down the track, Ahmadi yorks him and Dhoni has to dig it out back to the bowler. |
| 23.4 : J Ahmadi to MS Dhoni, Was that a catch? Ummm... well, hard to tell. Landed on off, Dhoni chips it towards long on. Ahmadi tries to go for the catch to his right but collides with Karthik. If Karthik had not been standing there... who knows, MS might have been walking back. The ball goes down to long on and a single is taken. The stand moves to 10 from 19 balls. |
| 23.5 : J Ahmadi to D Karthik, The batsman has flicked the ball off his pads. They pick up a single. |
| 23.6 : J Ahmadi to MS Dhoni, Full on middle, pushed down to long on for a run. |
| Another bowling change. Rahmat Shah to bowl his leggies. |
| 24.1 : R Shah to MS Dhoni, A long hop to start, pretty wide, turning away, Dhoni looks to punch but gets a bottom edge towards cover. Is halfway down the track for the single but is sent back. |
| 24.2 : R Shah to MS Dhoni, Flat on the ground! Tough luck for Mohammad Nabi. A short ball again from the bowler, Dhoni rocks back and pulls it towards long on. Nabi comes running in and collects the ball but then slips and lands on his back side. The crowd has a laugh about that. |
| 24.3 : R Shah to D Karthik, Short and outside off, punched straight to point. |
| 24.4 : R Shah to D Karthik, Short again, cut again, straight to point again! |
| 24.5 : R Shah to D Karthik, Three in a row! Short, cut, fielded at point. |
| 24.6 : R Shah to D Karthik, Full and outside off, driven straight to cover. |
| 25.1 : J Ahmadi to MS Dhoni, Landed outside off, spinning in a long way, Dhoni backs away and punches it down to long off for a single. |
| 25.2 : J Ahmadi to D Karthik, Around off, punched back to the bowler. |
| 25.3 : J Ahmadi to D Karthik, A long hop, Karthik pulls it towards deep square leg for a single. |
| 25.4 : J Ahmadi to MS Dhoni, Another short ball, punched towards cover. |
| 25.5 : J Ahmadi to MS Dhoni, OUT! LBW! This is a bonus wicket for Afghanistan. Ahmadi has got rid of the Indian captain. But he has also hurt himself in the process. Full and outside off, Dhoni gets a good stride forward and looks to defend but misses and is hit on the pads. Ahmadi appeals, the umpire thinks for a while and then raises his finger. Dhoni is not happy and neither is Ahmadi. Let us get to the bowler first. While celebrating after the decision, the fielder from short fine leg has thr |
| Manish Pandey walks in at number 5, replacing Dhoni. |
| 25.6 : J Ahmadi to M Pandey, A short ball, pulled towards deep mid-wicket for a run. Just 3 runs and a wicket from the over, Ahmadi's figures read 2-0-8-1. |
| 26.1 : R Shah to M Pandey, Full and wide outside off, driven through the covers for a single. |
| 26.2 : R Shah to D Karthik, Dropped short, pulled straight to short mid-wicket. |
| 26.3 : R Shah to D Karthik, Full and outside off, Karthik chips this towards long off for a run. |
| 26.4 : R Shah to M Pandey, The batsman drives this through the covers. They pick up a single. |
| 26.5 : R Shah to D Karthik, Excellent running. Full and outside off, Karthik drives it through the covers for a couple. |
| 26.6 : R Shah to D Karthik, FOUR! CREAMED! Full and outside off, Karthik leans and slog sweeps it over mid-wicket for a boundary! 150 UP FOR INDIA. 101 more needed from 138 balls. |
| 27.1 : J Ahmadi to M Pandey, Full on middle, helped to long on for a single. |
| 27.2 : J Ahmadi to D Karthik, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 27.3 : J Ahmadi to D Karthik, A tad short, punched towards short mid-wicket. |
| 27.4 : J Ahmadi to D Karthik, FOUR! FEROCIOUS! Karthik jumps down the track and on seeing that, the bowler bowls a high full toss. But the batsman is unperturbed and heaves it over mid-wicket for a boundary! Moves to 23 from 30 balls, with his third boundary. 96 more needed to win from 134 deliveries. |
| 27.5 : J Ahmadi to D Karthik, A long hop, heaved towards long on for a single. |
| 27.6 : J Ahmadi to M Pandey, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| Conventional bowling change. Aftab Alam is back on. 4-0-25-0 so far. |
| 28.1 : A Alam to D Karthik, Full and outside off, Karthik looks to drop and run to the off side, takes a couple of steps, but then the bowler hurries to collect the ball and DK is sent back. |
| 28.2 : A Alam to D Karthik, Very full, would have been stone dead, if not for the bat. Tailing in, Karthik walks across, looks to flick and gets a thick inside edge onto his pads. The ball rolls to the leg side and the batsmen pinch a single. |
| 28.3 : A Alam to M Pandey, So unlucky. Full and outside off, Pandey drives this dead straight. But it is so straight that it hits the stumps at the other end! |
| 28.4 : A Alam to M Pandey, Outside off, Pandey looks to drive but gets a thick inside edge onto his pads. |
| 28.5 : A Alam to M Pandey, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 28.6 : A Alam to M Pandey, Full on middle, pushed down to long on for a single. |
| Double bowling change. Mohammad Nabi into the attack as well. 6-0-28-1 so far. |
| 29.1 : M Nabi to M Pandey, CHANCE? Perhaps. Full and outside off, Pandey looks to defend but the ball spins in, cramps him for room and then goes off something past the keeper to the fine leg fence. There is a bit of good fielding in the deep, which saved a run. That 'something' was either bat or the pad. |
| 29.2 : M Nabi to D Karthik, Outside off, dabbed to short third man. |
| 29.3 : M Nabi to D Karthik, Played to the mid-wicket region by the batsman. |
| 29.4 : M Nabi to D Karthik, Short and outside off, cut through point for a single. |
| 29.5 : M Nabi to M Pandey, Quicker one outside off, Pandey looks to cut now but misses. |
| 29.6 : M Nabi to M Pandey, The batsman rocks onto the back foot and punches the ball. |
| 30.1 : A Alam to D Karthik, NO BALL! A massive beamer, around middle, Karthik is a touch surprised but manages to pull it towards fine leg for a single. |
| 0.0 : FREE HIT TIME! Where can Pandey deposit this? The field can be changed since the batsmen changed strike. |
| 30.1 : A Alam to M Pandey, Oh dear! Pandey lines himself for a big slog but then the bowler bowls it miles outside off. Now, Pandey thinks it will be a wide but it just grazes the line. So the Free Hit is a dot ball! |
| 30.2 : A Alam to M Pandey, Punched off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 30.3 : A Alam to M Pandey, OUT! Caught behind! Afghanistan are getting some quick wickets here. This is full and outside off, a touch wide, Pandey looks to drive when it is not on a driveable length. But there is no feet movement and it results in an outside edge. Shahzad collects but neither the keeper nor the bowler appeal. Pandey stays over there but then the umpire sends him on his way. If my memory serves me correct, when Australia toured India in 2017 for the ODIs, Nathan Coulter-Nile got h |
| Kedar Jadhav walks in at number 6, replacing Pandey. |
| 30.4 : A Alam to K Jadhav, FOUR! That's lucky! Outside off, Jadhav plays a loose drive and gets a thick outside edge which flies through the vacant slip cordon to the third man fence! |
| 30.5 : A Alam to K Jadhav, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. Two runs added to the total. |
| 30.6 : A Alam to K Jadhav, A slower bouncer, outside off, Jadhav waits, thinks about letting it go, but then tries the upper cut. Misses. |
| Javed Ahmadi is back on. 3-0-14-1 so far. |
| 31.1 : J Ahmadi to D Karthik, Full and outside off, driven through the covers for a single. |
| 31.2 : J Ahmadi to K Jadhav, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. One run added to the total. |
| 31.3 : J Ahmadi to D Karthik, On middle, punched down to long on for a run. |
| 31.4 : J Ahmadi to K Jadhav, Quicker delivery, helped through square leg for one more. |
| 31.5 : J Ahmadi to D Karthik, Full and outside off, Karthik lunges and works it through the leg side for another single. |
| 31.6 : J Ahmadi to K Jadhav, Around off, worked to the leg side. |
| Rashid Khan is finally back on. Too late? 4-0-15-1 so far. India need just 76 from 108 balls. |
| 32.1 : R Khan to D Karthik, A short ball outside off, spinning away, Karthik punches it towards cover. |
| 32.2 : R Khan to D Karthik, Landed outside off, dabbed to short third man. |
| 32.3 : R Khan to D Karthik, MASSIVE APPEAL FOR A CAUGHT BEHIND BUT WIDE SIGNALLED! Nothing in it. Pure drama. The googly, pitched around middle and leg, spinning down the leg side, Karthik misses his flick and Shahzad is up and jumping in an appeal. The umpire is calm and simply stretches his arms. |
| R Khan to D Karthik, Full and around off, Dinesh looks to defend but gets a thick inside edge to the leg side. |
| 32.4 : R Khan to D Karthik, Outside off, dabbed to short third man. |
| 32.5 : R Khan to D Karthik, Dropped short, pulled towards deep mid-wicket. A run taken. |
| 32.6 : R Khan to K Jadhav, Around off, pushed to the off side for another single. |
| DRINKS BREAK. So, for the first time in the tournament, India's middle order gets a good outing in the middle. The flashy batting of Rayudu and Rahul allowed that to happen, as both gifted their wickets away. In fact, apart from Dhoni, all dismissals have been thrown away. But the untested and unexposed middle order will not complain. Perfect opportunity to get some runs under your belt before the final. Just 73 more needed - India will look to Karthik taking them home with a nice unbeaten 70 an |
| 33.1 : Ur Rahman to K Jadhav, WIDE. The quicker one, down the leg side, Jadhav lets it go. |
| Ur Rahman to K Jadhav, Full on middle, worked straight to short mid-wicket. |
| 33.2 : Ur Rahman to K Jadhav, On middle and leg, helped fine for a single. |
| 33.3 : Ur Rahman to D Karthik, Outside off, Karthik looks to cut but misses. |
| 33.4 : Ur Rahman to D Karthik, Similar delivery, gently dabbed to short third man. Wants a single but is sent back. |
| 33.5 : Ur Rahman to D Karthik, Short and outside off, this time DK cuts it in front of point and gets a run. |
| 33.6 : Ur Rahman to K Jadhav, Full and around middle, swept behind square on the leg side for one. 69 more needed from 96 balls. |
| 34.1 : R Khan to K Jadhav, The leg spinner, around middle and off, defended from the crease to the off side. |
| 34.2 : R Khan to K Jadhav, Fuller, around off, pushed through cover-point for a single. |
| 34.3 : R Khan to D Karthik, Full and just around off, Karthik gets a good stride forward to defend. |
| 34.4 : R Khan to D Karthik, Similar ball, this time Dinesh stays back and blocks it to the off side. |
| 34.5 : R Khan to D Karthik, FOUR! Very well played. The quicker ball, outside off, Karthik waits till the last moment and then plays the flashy cut. The ball does take a bit of an outside edge but is very wide of the fielder at short third man. The stand is worth 23 from 26 balls. |
| 34.6 : R Khan to D Karthik, A long hop, dragged down to long on for a single. |
| 35.1 : Ur Rahman to D Karthik, The carrom ball, outside off, flayed through point for a couple. |
| 35.2 : Ur Rahman to D Karthik, Similar ball, another carrom delivery, but on the shorter side. Flayed through point for a single. |
| 35.3 : Ur Rahman to K Jadhav, Full and just outside off, Jadhav gets a long stride forward and defends. |
| 35.4 : Ur Rahman to K Jadhav, The leg spinner now. Watched carefully and played through the covers for a run. 59 more needed from 86 balls. |
| 35.5 : Ur Rahman to D Karthik, Short and outside off, another cut shot played through point for one. |
| 35.6 : Ur Rahman to K Jadhav, Outside off, played through point for a run. The stand is worth 30 from 33 balls. |
| Caught behind? There has been a massive appeal from Shahzad and Afghanistan have taken this upstairs. Is Jadhav in trouble? There was some noise... |
| 36.1 : R Khan to K Jadhav, NOT OUT. The sound was of the bat hitting the pad. Afghanistan lose their sole review. Full and outside off, Jadhav looked to try and work it to the leg side but missed and it was snaffled by the keeper. Now, Shahzad and Rashid went up straightaway but the umpire was pretty firm and shook his head. The bowler was adamant and wanted the review but the keeper said he was not sure at all! Great acting skills. Asghar Afghan looked confused as to go for it or not. Shahzad s |
| 36.2 : R Khan to K Jadhav, FOUR! Nicely played. Outside off, Jadhav opens the face of the bat and guides it past short third man for a boundary! |
| 36.3 : R Khan to K Jadhav, The batsman has played it to the point region. |
| 36.4 : R Khan to K Jadhav, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 36.5 : R Khan to K Jadhav, On middle and leg, flicked to the leg side. |
| 36.6 : R Khan to K Jadhav, The batsman was beaten and missed the line of the delivery. |
| Mohammad Nabi is back on. 7-0-32-1 so far. |
| 37.1 : M Nabi to D Karthik, WIDE. Full and down the leg side, Karthik misses his flick. |
| M Nabi to D Karthik, Full on middle, flicked straight to short mid-wicket. |
| 37.2 : M Nabi to D Karthik, Short and outside off, cut through the covers for a single. |
| 37.3 : M Nabi to K Jadhav, Comes down the track, is not to the pitch of the ball, looks to flick but is hit on the pads. |
| 37.4 : M Nabi to K Jadhav, Full and around off, Kedar gets across, looks to flick but misses and is hit on the pads. Shahzad appeals but Nabi is not the least bit interested. Neither is the umpire. Impact could have been outside off. |
| 37.5 : M Nabi to K Jadhav, Full on middle, pushed back to the bowler. |
| 37.6 : M Nabi to K Jadhav, Full on middle, pushed back to Nabi again. |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman gets a change of ends. 7-1-30-0 so far. |
| 38.1 : Ur Rahman to D Karthik, Outside off, Karthik taps this in front of point and takes a quick single. |
| 38.2 : Ur Rahman to K Jadhav, A touch short, calmly tucked through square leg for a run. 49 more needed from 70 balls. |
| 38.3 : Ur Rahman to D Karthik, Outside off, spinning in, Dinesh runs it towards short third man. |
| 38.4 : Ur Rahman to D Karthik, Landed outside off, Karthik is pretty late in getting his bat down and just about brings it down in time. |
| Is that a run out now? Mujeeb has appealed for a run out at the bowlr's end. Has Kedar got back in? |
| 38.5 : Ur Rahman to D Karthik, OUT! What a freakish dismissal! Kedar is short. Has to go now. Full and around off, Karthik drives it straight back. Now, Mujeeb gets across to his right and should have fielded it. But he misfields it, the ball brushes his hands and hits the stumps behind! Now, Kedar is backing a long way and has to turn behind and slide his bat in. Mujeeb appeals and runs around in celebratory fashion. The umpire refers it upstairs and replays show that Jadhav has not quite made i |
| Ravindra Jadeja walks out now, at number 7, replacing Jadhav. |
| 38.6 : Ur Rahman to D Karthik, Dropped short, pulled through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 39.1 : M Nabi to D Karthik, Full and around middle, Karthik misses his flick and is hit on the pads. The Afghans appeal again but it is turned down. Missing leg. |
| 39.2 : M Nabi to D Karthik, The batsman opens the face of the bat and helps it to third man. |
| 39.3 : M Nabi to D Karthik, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 39.4 : M Nabi to D Karthik, OUT! Adjudged LBW! Boy, is the game turning now? Karthik is not happy. Full and around middle and leg, Karthik misses his flick and is hit on the pads as the ball spins in. Nabi appeals, the umpire takes his time and eventually raises his finger! DK has a long look at the heavens and then trudges back. To the naked eye, that looked like missing leg. Hawk Eye confirms it. Sadly, India do not have any review left. 48 more needed from 62 balls. Getting close. |
| Deepak Chahar is the new man in at number 8, replacing Karthik. |
| 39.5 : M Nabi to D Chahar, Full and down the leg side, Chahar tickles it past short fine leg to get his international career underway. Two runs taken. |
| 39.6 : M Nabi to D Chahar, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. End of Powerplay 2. 143/6 in this period for India. Afghanistan made 126/6 during their batting. |
| POWERPLAY 3 time. 5 fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle now. Aftab Alam is back on. 6-0-35-1 so far. |
| 40.1 : A Alam to R Jadeja, Full and straight, Jadeja looks to flick but gets a leading edge towards cover. |
| 40.2 : A Alam to R Jadeja, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 40.3 : A Alam to D Chahar, Full and straight, watchfully defended. |
| 40.4 : A Alam to D Chahar, Around off, Chahar gets squared up a touch and pushes it towards point. |
| 40.5 : A Alam to D Chahar, Down the leg side, helped fine for a run. |
| 40.6 : A Alam to R Jadeja, Full toss, on middle, pushed down to long on for one. |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman is back on. 8-1-33-0 so far. |
| 41.1 : Ur Rahman to R Jadeja, Short and outside off, Jadeja looks to cut but mistimes his shot. |
| 41.2 : Ur Rahman to R Jadeja, Huge, huge appeal for LBW! Turned down! Full and around middle, the carrom ball, Jadeja does not pick it at all and hastily looks to defend. Misses and is hit on the pads. A massive appeal ensues but umpire Brathwaite shakes his head. Hawk Eye shows that to be missing leg. |
| 41.3 : Ur Rahman to R Jadeja, The batsman has been struck on the pads as he looked to play that off the front foot. |
| 41.4 : Ur Rahman to R Jadeja, Another LBW shout! Turned down again! Full and around middle, Jadeja misses his defense again and is rapped on the pads. This one is missing leg too, by the looks of it. |
| 41.5 : Ur Rahman to R Jadeja, Short and outside off, punched through point for a single. |
| 41.6 : Ur Rahman to D Chahar, On middle and leg, helped through square leg for a couple. |
| Rashid Khan is back on. 7-0-28-1 so far. Can he swing this game Afghanistan's way? |
| 42.1 : R Khan to R Jadeja, A full toss, around off, whipped through long on for a single. 39 more needed from 47 balls. |
| 42.2 : R Khan to D Chahar, Full and outside off, Chahar lunges to defend but the ball rips past the outside edge. |
| 42.3 : R Khan to D Chahar, Around middle and off, worked through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 42.4 : R Khan to R Jadeja, The googly, outside off, spinning away, Jadeja does not pick it and mistimes his cut to cover. |
| 42.5 : R Khan to R Jadeja, Down the leg side, Ravindra looks to tuck it away but is beaten by the leg spinner and is hit on the pads. Shahzad is sharp behind the wickets and looks for a run out. The ball is barely gone a few yards and Jaddu has to scurry back. |
| 42.6 : R Khan to R Jadeja, On middle, pushed towards long on for a run. |
| 43.1 : Ur Rahman to R Jadeja, Short and outside off, Jadeja cuts it through point for a quick single. |
| 43.2 : Ur Rahman to D Chahar, Massive LBW shout! Umpire Gregory says no again! The carrom ball from Mujeeb, Chahar gets squared up in attempting to flick it to the leg side but still, manages to get across. He is hit on the pads, but luckily for him, the impact is outside off. |
| 43.3 : Ur Rahman to D Chahar, Full and outside off, pushed through the covers for a run. |
| 43.4 : Ur Rahman to R Jadeja, On middle, played through mid-wicket for one. |
| 43.5 : Ur Rahman to D Chahar, FOUR! Crucial boundary for India! Short and wide outside off, Chahar pounces on that and crunches it behind point for a boundary! Moves to 11 from 11 balls with his first boundary. |
| 43.6 : Ur Rahman to D Chahar, Full and down the leg side, Deepak misses his flick and is hit on the pads. Mujeeb is done for the night. 10-1-43-0 are his figures. This is just the third time in ODIs that he has gone wicketless. Twice against Ireland - once in Belfast, once in Harare and tonight. |
| Aftab Alam is back on. 7-0-38-1 so far. |
| 44.1 : A Alam to R Jadeja, Outside off, pushed through point for a single. 29 more needed from 35 balls. |
| 44.2 : A Alam to D Chahar, Full and outside off, almost a yorker, Chahar looks for a drive but gets a bottom edge. The ball barely moves towards gully but the batsmen pinch a quick run. The stand is now worth 20 from 28 balls. |
| 44.3 : A Alam to R Jadeja, Full on middle, worked straight to short mid-wicket. |
| 44.4 : A Alam to R Jadeja, Outside off, pushed towards mid off for a quick run. |
| 44.5 : A Alam to D Chahar, OUT! BOWLED! Aftab has struck! Chahar is beaten by pace. A length ball, on middle, Deepak looks to flick but the ball hits his pads and then deflects onto the off stump. The Afghan supporters go wild in the crowd. Aftab is excited and runs all around the park. This match well... seems to be heading down to the wire. 27 more needed from 31 balls. |
| Kuldeep Yadav is the next man in at number 9, replacing Chahar. How will Jadeja bat now? |
| 44.6 : A Alam to K Yadav, Full and straight, Kuldeep just about survives, getting his bat down in time. The ball takes the inside edge and hits him on the pads. 3 runs and a wicket from the over, Aftab's figures read 8-0-41-2. |
| Mohammad Nabi to bowl out. 9-0-36-2 so far. |
| 45.1 : M Nabi to R Jadeja, Full and outside off, spinning away, Jadeja waits for the ball to turn and then guides it towards point. |
| 45.2 : M Nabi to K Yadav, On middle and leg, defended watchfully. |
| 45.3 : M Nabi to K Yadav, Outside off, played through point for a single. |
| 45.4 : M Nabi to R Jadeja, Outside off again, played through point for a run. |
| 45.5 : M Nabi to K Yadav, Full and straight, watchfully defended. |
| 45.6 : M Nabi to K Yadav, IN THE GAP! Lucky me. Or lucky Kuldeep, shall I say. He tries to flick across the line but gets a leading edge. However, the ball flies between cover and point! A single taken. |
| 46.1 : A Alam to K Yadav, WATCH IT! Oh dear... Samiullah Shenwari is down. Full on middle and leg, Kuldeep flicks this beautifully through square leg. The throw comes in from Gulbadin Naib as the batsmen take the second. The bowler is in the middle of the pitch, shouting at the fielder as to what is he doing. Naib returns a quick throw to the keeper who tries to collect and whip the bails off but is unable to collect the ball. It hits his left glove and then hits Shenwari on his left cheek, just |
| 0.0 : Samiullah Shenwari is going off the ground. He was the substitute fielder and is being subbed now. |
| 46.2 : A Alam to K Yadav, A slower delivery outside off, Yadav waits for the ball and then taps it towards point for a quick single. |
| 46.3 : A Alam to R Jadeja, On middle and leg, flicked towards short mid-wicket. There is a yes-yes and a no-no and eventually, both batsmen stay where they are. The fielder has a needless shy at the striker's end and nearly concedes an overthrow off the deflection. Luckily for him, the ball stays over there after hitting the stumps and the batsmen do not run. |
| 46.4 : A Alam to R Jadeja, Full on middle, pushed through mid on for a single. |
| 46.5 : A Alam to K Yadav, A length ball, tucked off the hips through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 46.6 : A Alam to R Jadeja, A slower bouncer, calmly pulled through mid-wicket for one. |
| Decisive over. Rashid Khan to bowl. 8-0-31-1 so far. Lot of ones available on the leg side. |
| 47.1 : R Khan to R Jadeja, A googly to start. Well bowled. Pitched outside off, Jadeja lunges to defend but misses the line. Quick stumping by Shahzad but Jaddu was in the crease. |
| 47.2 : R Khan to R Jadeja, Full on middle, flicked through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 47.3 : R Khan to K Yadav, LBW appeal, not out. The leg spinner, pitched on middle and leg, Kuldeep misses his flick and is hit on the pads. Turning down the leg side. For the first time, the required run rate goes above 6. |
| 47.4 : R Khan to K Yadav, Excellent shot! Full and outside leg, swept behind square on the leg side for a single. |
| 47.5 : R Khan to R Jadeja, Full and around off, spins in sharply, watchfully blocked. |
| 47.6 : R Khan to R Jadeja, A full toss, on middle, whipped through mid-wicket for a brace. |
| Crucial over for both sides. India will not want too much to get from the final Rashid over. Can they finish it off in this over itself? |
| Direct hit! Is Kuldeep run out? Referred upstairs... |
| 48.1 : A Alam to K Yadav, OUT! Kuldeep is gone. What a brilliant piece of fielding. India are 8 down now but Jadeja is on strike. Full and around off, Kuldeep backs away and drives it through the covers. Gulbadin Naib covers good ground to his left and dives to stop the boundary. Jadeja calls for the third but Kuldeep is a bit slow in taking off. Naib returns a wayward throw to the bowler, way away from the stumps. But he takes the throw, turns back and then fires his own throw at the stumps. Bul |
| 0.0 : Siddarth Kaul walks in at number 10, replacing Kuldeep. |
| 48.2 : A Alam to R Jadeja, A short ball, pulled through mid-wicket for a couple. 9 needed from 10 now. |
| 48.3 : A Alam to R Jadeja, TOP EDGE, SAFE! Should Rashid have dived and gone for the catch? A short ball, outside off, climbing up, Jadeja looks to pull but gets a top edge. Rashid Khan comes charging in from mid-wicket but does not dive! The ball lands in front of him. Meanwhile, Kaul is near Jadeja, wanting the single. Rashid has a throw at the bowler's end but misses! All happening! |
| 48.4 : A Alam to R Jadeja, On middle, pushed towards long on for a run. |
| Another direct hit! Is it another run out? Kaul is the man in question. Referred upstairs... |
| 48.5 : A Alam to S Kaul, OUT! It is wicket number 9! The Afghans are hitting the stumps alright. Full on middle, Kaul pushes it towards mid on and hares across. Hashmatullah Shahidi charges to the ball, picks it up and then fires a direct hit the bowler's end! It is referred upstairs and replays show that Kaul is gone! |
| Khaleel Ahmed is the last man in but Jadeja is on strike. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma comes running out with a smile taking drinks along! What is the message? |
| 48.6 : A Alam to R Jadeja, Down the leg side, flicked towards fine leg for a single. |
| Last over. It was Shoaib Malik in match 1. Then Mustafizur in match 2. Will Jadeja rob Afghanistan off a close win in match 3? The whole Afghan team is giving advice to their number 1 bowler, Rashid Khan. 6 to defend. |
| 49.1 : R Khan to R Jadeja, THEY DON'T RUN! A short ball, Jadeja heaves it towards deep mid-wicket but does not want the single. 7 needed from 5 balls. |
| Four or a six? Referred upstairs... |
| 49.2 : R Khan to R Jadeja, FOUR! FETCH THAT! What a hit by Jadeja. The wrong 'un, outside off, Jaddu gets down and plays the slog sweep. The ball is aerial and flat and goes towards deep mid-wicket. The fielder there rushes to his right, puts in a dive but cannot get to the ball! Initially, it seems like it has hit the ropes on the full but replays confirm that the ball has bounced just before. |
| 49.3 : R Khan to R Jadeja, TAKES THE SINGLE! 2 needed from 3 balls. Is that the right call from Jadeja? He flicks this through square leg and takes a quick run. Should he have farmed the strike? |
| A team conference out in the middle. |
| 49.4 : R Khan to K Ahmed, Nervy moment! Full and outside off, the googly, Khaleel does not pick it at all. Looks to drive and the ball nearly goes through the gate. Takes the inside edge and scoots past the leg stump towards short fine leg! Jadeja is halfway down the track and Khaleel has to run. He seems to be gone for all money but short fine leg returns a sharp rocket throw and Rashid is unable to collect. SCORES ARE LEVEL! |
| 49.5 : R Khan to R Jadeja, OUT! THE MATCH IS TIED! Unbelievable scenes. Rashid Khan is flying around, like an aeroplane. Shikhar Dhawan is smiling in the dressing room. How did India goof it up? A short ball, Jadeja rocked back and pulled it uppishly. He could have hit it anywhere he liked but he chose the only man in the deep on the leg side - mid-wicket. Najibullah Zadran comes running in and takes a terrific catch. Oh boy, what a game. Does not matter to either team but what a match we have ha |
| Take a bow, Afghanistan. You can go back home with your heads held high. At 204/4, with 49 needed from 68 balls, one would have thought it is India's game. However, the Afghan bowlers and fielders believed in themselves and though they could not win, prevented a defeat too. |
| Phew. Let us try and dissect the innings. Can one bad review turn the game against you? It surely did against India tonight. Lokesh Rahul chose to review a straightforward LBW decision and well, it really hurt India. The 110-run opening stand set the run chase up and then, there was a bit of a collapse. The batting side slipped from 110/1 to 166/4 but Jadhav and Karthik were still at the crease. |
| This was a perfect game for the middle order to test itself. Throughout the tournament, India have been winning handsomely, thanks to its top order. Dinesh Karthik was playing beautifully but then Dhoni got a rough call. After that, Pandey threw his wicket away. But Jadhav stayed around, til a freakish run out got him. And then, Karthik got a rough call too and that is where, the game swung. |
| India had Ravindra Jadeja at one end but he kept running out of partners. However, he played smartly up until till that final ball. Well, one cannot help but be harsh on him. With 1 run needed, 2 balls remaining, it would have been better had he played that along the ground. But that is pressure. Please stay tuned for the presentation. Whom should the man of the match go to? Shahzad, for his century? Or Nabi, for his 64 and 2 wickets? Let us see... |
| Afghanistan skipper, Asghar Afghan says the wicket was good for the spinners. Credits Mohammad Shahzad for playing positive cricket and applauds the Indian openers for the way they played. States that his bowlers did well and is happy with their performance. Mentions that India are a very good side, but acknowledges that his team gave them a tough fight and also wishes them all the best for the final. On Shahzad, he says that he's a good player and played positive cricket, just feels unfortunate |
| Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni praises Afghanistan for their improvement in cricket. Commends their growth and says that they are one country that has risen up the ranks. Is full of praise for the way they bowled and fielded tonight. He says that India were handicapped today as they had rested their first-choice players. Faults his fast bowlers for not hitting the right lengths in the initial overs. On the batting, he is happy that the team got off to a terrific start but laments the starts |
| Ok. The jury is out. MOHAMMAD SHAHZAD HAS BEEN NAMED THE MAN OF THE MATCH. He says he isn't happy with the result as he wanted to win, but is happy with the performance his side put against a team like India. States that since they were going to go back home anyway, his idea was to just hit it and play his natural game. Is glad to have played a knock like this. Reckons that he wasn't playing well in the last few games, so is content he ended the tournament on a high. |
| Right! That's it from here. Afghanistan go back with their heads held high. They put in a really commendable performance against the best side in ODI cricket and tying such a close game is no easy feat. India, well, would consider this as the perfect tune-up game before the big final as their middle order was really tested. In any case, we bid you farewell for now. But do join us in a few hours' time for the virtual semi-final between Pakistan and Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi. The contest takes place |
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