A majestic fifty from Suryakumar Yadav helped India post 181 for 7 before regular wickets reduced Afghanistan to just 134 all out as India cruised to victory in their Super 8s opener in Barbados
Barbados: India 181-7, Afghanistan 134 - India won by 47 runs
India stayed unbeaten at the T20 World Cup with a 47-run victory over Afghanistan in their first Super 8s game.
A majestic fifty from Suryakumar Yadav helped India post 181 for 7 before regular wickets reduced Afghanistan to just 134 in Barbados.
India, who also enjoyed cameos from Virat Kohli (24), Rishabh Pant (20), and Hardik Pandya (32), did well to post an above-par score in the face of three wickets apiece for Rashid Khan (3 for 26) and leading wicket-taker Fazalhaq Farooqi (3 for 33).
On a slightly slower pitch in Barbados, the Afghanistan captain reduced India to 90 for 4 in the 11th over before SKY and Pandya combined for a partnership of 60 off 37 balls. When that partnership fell it looked as if India were stalling but 14 off Naveen-ul-Haq's final over took them past 180.
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Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya combined for the key partnership in the India innings (Randy Brooks/Getty Images)
Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the first wicket of the chase after Jasprit Bumrah ended his brief but entertaining 11 and it got worse for Afghanistan when Axar Patel removed Ibrahim Zadran (8) and Bumrah struck again to remove Hazratullah Zazai (2).
Gulbadin Naib (17) and Azmatullah Omarzai (26) proved some form of resistance by putting on a partnership of 44 before they fell to Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Jadeja respectively, in consecutive overs.
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Bumrah removed Najibullah Zadran (19) and Kuldeep dismissed Mohammad Nabi (14) to provide some substance to a chase that began to drift as the required run rate rose steadily.
In truth, the Afghanistan chase failed to get going and India's 182 was never really under much threat.
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