As it happened - Afghanistan vs India, Men's T20 World Cup, Super 12s

Karim Janat adds 42 off 22 in the end to give Afghanistan some score, which saves some of their net-run-rate, but the table now looks different. They stand at just 1.481 with India in the positives now. New Zealand are at 0.816, India at 0.073. If Afghanistan manage to beat New Zealand this Sunday, India hold all the aces on Monday, the last match of this stage. We sign off with a teaser from the full report. Thanks for joining us. Happy Diwali

Afghanistan have crawled to 98 for 5 in 16 overs. They are looking at a huge defeat and a big drop in their net-run-rate, but as of this moment they are assured to stay ahead of New Zealand for the time being.

They are playing together in a competitive limited-overs match for the first time since 2017, and already Jadeja, who was already here, has given Ashwin a hand. There were two right-hand batters at the wicket when Powerplay ended, but Jadeja removed one of them, bring out a left-hand batter, making Ashwin's task easier on comeback. Ashwin, though, takes out the other right-hand batter to make it 59 for 4 in the 10th over. That's his first T20I wicket since 2016.

At 47 for 2 at the end of the Powerplay, Afghanistan are still way behind the chase - their win probability is 5.62% - but it is still way better than 13 for 2 in 3.1 overs. That gives them a shot at preserving their net-run-rate. Should they just aim for 160 now and take whatever extra they get as bonus? Just for reference, if they score under 91, their NRR falls below New Zealand's.

Shami and Bumrah take out Zazai and Shahzad in two balls to make it 13 for 2 in 3.1 overs. The Afghan batters looking completely outclassed against high pace and some movement. This gives India a great chance to correct their net-run-rate should it come down to that if Afghanistan manage to beat New Zealand.

This innings has all the feels of that Bermuda 413, which was the highest score in that World Cup but India failed to move past the league stages. India will hope this one is different, though.

India have expectedly managed to score 210 thanks to thew foundation provided by the openers and the finishing kick from Pant and Pandya. This is the highest score this World Cup. This is also India's second-highest in World Cups.

What should Afghanistan do now? Aim for 160-170 to protect their net-run-rate or risk being bowled out for 110 looking for this 210?

That's his fourth-worst analysis in al T20 internationals. That's a big win for India, but with Mujeeb missing, Rashid had little pressure to work with here. Can't take that away from how smartly Rohit and Rahul played him as Shiva mentioned in the previous post. India 145 for 1 in 16 overs.

Rohit Sharma falls with the score at 140, which makes it the fourth-highest opening stand in all T20 World Cups. He was looking to go over extra cover but failed to find elevation, ending his innings at 74 off 47. India look set for a 200 here. In comes Rishabh Pant, India 140 for 1 in 14.3 overs.

Great analysis from Shiva Jayaraman. He says: The pair of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma allowed Rashid Khan just one dot off this first two overs. Rashid has bowled 55 times in T20 internationals and this is the fewest dots he has managed to bowl in his first couple of overs in a T20I. On an average, six balls out of the first two overs Rashid bowls in a T20I are dots. The Indian openers have scored 17 runs off Rashid so far. This is as good a start India would’ve hoped for against their main threat in the Afghanistan bowling line up. But one wouldn't put it past the champion legspinner to strike back.

That's from 5.1 to 8.3. And it has taken a rank long hop for India to get the boundary. There has been little attacking intent since the start of the sixth over, which is perplexing because India need to score 180-190 at least and then big win because they can't get out of this group with NRR calculations.

It is all looking a little too easy with no mystery or extreme pace or swing in the Powerplay. India's 53 for 0 is the sixth-best Powerplay this World Cup. A word on Hamid Hassan, though, who has bowled yorker after yorker to concede just six runs in two overs.

In their previous two matches, India managed a total of three boundaries - all fours - against spin in 16 overs. Missing Mujeeb, Afghanistan are forced out of their match-ups, and India have hit three fours and a six off spin in just two overs this game. Nabi turns it in, Sharafuddin hardly turned his slow left-arm orthodox deliveries. India 30 for 0 in three overs.

In the absence of Mujeeb, captain Mohammad Nabi has taken the first over. Just imagine what a big task it is: two right-hand batters, inside the Powerplay, offspinner turning it in. Given all limitations and every match-up going against him, Nabi has bowled the perfect over with two arm balls and almost nothing under the bat, but India have still managed to take seven off him. It's just extremely difficult.

New Zealand meanwhile have won against Scotland, which neither of these teams will like, but they have won by just 16 runs. Barring the upset, this was the next-best thing for these sides. new Zealand's net-run-rate boost is not big from this match so if it does come down to net-run-rate, these teams will have a chance. Currently, Afghanistan have a strong net-run-rate of 3.097, followed by New Zealand's 0.816 and India's -1.609. If if it does come down to NRR, India have the advantage of playing the last game, that too against Namibia.

Afghanistan have deviated from their strategy and chosen to chase here because of the threat of the dew. This is only the third time in their last 16 won tosses that they have chosen to chase.

Although batting first brings bigger net-run-rate boost, India would have fielded first themselves for the same reasons, which tells you a little bit about the respect for Afghanistan too because you can't really steamroll them.

Unfortunately for Afghanistan, Mujeeb ur Rahman is still not fit. His one-time captain, though, R Ashwin, is making his comeback in limited-overs international. The last time he played in coloured clothing for India was way back in 2017. In T20 internationals, Sanju Samson and Dinesh Karthik have had longer layoffs. Suryakumar Yadav replaces Ishan Kishan, the only Indian batter with a decent record against Rashid Khan.

India1 RG Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 V Kohli (capt.), 4 SA Yadav, 5 RR Pant(wk), 6 HH Pandya, 7 RA Jadeja, 8 SN Thakur, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 JJ Bumrah

Afghanistan 1 Hazratullah Zazai, 2 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 3 Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 4 Najibullah Zadran, 5 Mohammad Nabi(capt.), 6 Gulbadin Naib, 7 Karim Janat, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Sharafuddin Ashraf, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Hamid Hassan

In what has been a chasers' tournament, Afghanistan are the only team who have been bucking the trend by preferring to bat first upon winning the toss. My guess is that they want their batters to bat more freely, which they feel they can't do when chasing. They have managed to beat Scotland doing so, and came close against Pakistan too. That suggests they might want to continue defending, but India are among the best chasers in the game. My guess is, the toss is redundant today because India prefer chasing, and Afghanistan defending. Meanwhile, both sides will be hoping Scotland score 39 in the last two overs. The 18th has gone for 17.