game over, Balaji finishes it off with a yorker, Afghanistan lose but they have not been disgraced, the first match of the tournament which wasn't completely one-sided
India vs Afghanistan, 3rd Match, Group A at Colombo, Sep 19 2012 - Match Result
RESULT
3rd Match, Group A (N), Colombo (RPS), September 19, 2012, ICC World Twenty20
Mohammad Nabi and Shafiqullah's 24-run partnership is AFG's highest for the 6th wicket in T20Is, breaking the record of 12 between Samiullah Shinwari and Gulbadin Naib
This is the highest match aggregate (295) involving India & Afghanistan in T20Is
Match centre
Scores: Gopi Rangarajan | Comms: Siddarth RavindranScorecard summary
India • 159/5(20 overs)
50 (39)
2/33 (4)
38 (33)
1/25 (4)
Afghanistan • 136/10(19.3 overs)
31 (17)
3/19 (3.3)
26 (26)
3/24 (4)
As Zubair says: "What if the catches had been taken? What if so many wides had not been bowled? Little more discipline would have taken them through,but a great fight nevertheless..Beware England."
It's been immensely entertaining stuff from Afghanistan. The new-ball bowlers tested India with their pace and bounce, and a much-hyped batting order could only reach 159, thanks to the run-machine Virat Kohli. The catching from Afghanistan was appalling though, putting down four (or was it five) chances. Afghanistan's batsmen may not have textbook technique, but merrily threw the bat around, and pulled off some breath-taking hits but Yuvraj's double-strike in the 12th over sucked the momentum out of the chase.
Arun: "Well played by Afghanistan. But the whole thing can be argued in another way, the fearless way to go with the match obviously helped them play better. India on the other hand, had to be careful to avoid getting embarrassed."
Presentation ceremony:
Nawroz Mangal: "It was a good game for the boys, we could have done better, shot selection was a bit poor, that was why we have lost the game. We could have done better in the field, but we are satisfied we restricted the mighty Indian batting to 160."
MS Dhoni: "This format balances both teams, if one of the opposition batsman or bowler have a great day, it could change the result. A good performance but not a great performance from us. There are a lot of areas we have to improve on to be honest. People talk a lot about five bowlers, but what matters is on the day how they bowl, whether they are a part-timer or a specialist."
Man of the Match is Virat Kohli: "Always good to get a start, good to start on a winning note. Always tough to play against a team with nothing to lose. They were in a situation where they could try a lot of things, we had to be more careful."
Here's Sid Monga's match report. There'll be more from our guys at the ground shortly. For the moment, though, that's it from us at ESPNcricinfo. Good night, and thanks for all the mails.
19.3
W
Balaji to Zadran, OUT
Dawlat Zadran b Balaji 8 (5b 2x4 0x6 9m) SR: 160
19.2
W
Balaji to Gulbadin, OUT
nine down now for Afghanistan, Naib tries to send the ball into orbit, sends it only as far as Raina at mid-off, it was a short ball from Balaji again
Gulbadin Naib c Raina b Balaji 5 (14b 0x4 0x6 23m) SR: 35.71
19.1
•
Balaji to Gulbadin, no run
a bouncer to start, batsman looks to pull but can't connect
end of over 1910 runs
AFG: 136/8CRR: 7.15 • RRR: 24.00
Dawlat Zadran8 (4b 2x4)
Gulbadin Naib5 (12b)
Irfan Pathan 4-0-29-1
Lakshmipathy Balaji 3-0-19-1
18.6
4
Pathan to Zadran, FOUR runs
a slower ball, full and outside leg, the bastman skips away beyond leg stump and murders that to the midwicket boundary, 24 needed now off the final over
18.5
4
Pathan to Zadran, FOUR runs
pitched up and that is crashed through extra cover, powerful hit that, 28 off 7 now
18.4
•
Pathan to Zadran, no run
a bouncer from Irfan, scares the No. 10 batsman, who waves his bat at it and misses
18.3
1
Pathan to Gulbadin, 1 run
top-edges that shortish ball, loops over the bowler's head, lands safely between mid-on and mid-off
18.2
•
Pathan to Gulbadin, no run
a low full toss is sent towards sweeper cover, Naib declines the single, no the smartest move at this stage, especially when you have made 4 off 11
free-hit
18.2
1nb
Pathan to Gulbadin, (no ball)
Irfan oversteps, a short of length ball angling in, the batsman looks to hammer that to the leg side but mishits it
Shashi: "No matter who wins, Afganistan is the winner to me. They have fought their hearts out and played like the fearless pathans! India will have to think seriously about the rest of the matches. The competition only gets tougher from here."
18.1
•
Pathan to Gulbadin, no run
shortish and outside off, looks to chop that over point and misses
end of over 187 runs • 1 wicket
AFG: 126/8CRR: 7.00 • RRR: 17.00
Dawlat Zadran0 (1b)
Gulbadin Naib4 (8b)
Lakshmipathy Balaji 3-0-19-1
Ravichandran Ashwin 4-0-20-2
17.6
•
Balaji to Zadran, no run
looking for an adventurous shot, walking across the stumps and trying to help it to fine leg, he misses and the ball sails over middle stump
17.5
1
Balaji to Gulbadin, 1 run
shortish ball is slapped towards deep square leg for a single
Sri Hari sent this a while ago: "Not a good time to be watching the game if you're dyslexic. Naib and Nabi are going to look like the same person."
17.4
W
Balaji to Gulbadin, OUT
slow bouncer this time from Balaji, looking to pull again but misses, struck on the body, Najibullah has a hamstring problem and has been struggling to run, he sets off for a single, Naib wasn't interested which meant the hobbling Najibullah has to turn back and try make his ground, the throw from Dhoni is to the bowler, Balaji collects and breaks the stumps with his arm, early enough to beat the dive from Najibullah, after many replays, the umpires are convinced it is, Afghanistan lose their eighth
Najibullah Zadran run out (†Dhoni/Balaji) 5 (2b 1x4 0x6 7m) SR: 250
17.3
•
Balaji to Gulbadin, no run
there's the Balaji bouncer, the batsman looks to club that to the leg side, misses
17.2
1
Balaji to Zadran, 1 run
worked towards sweeper cover for one
17.1
4
Balaji to Zadran, FOUR runs
length ball angling across, an effortless hit towards sweeper cover, I was waiting to for the camera to pan out and show the fielder in the deep, there wasn't one, a nonchalant boundary
17.1
1w
Balaji to Zadran, 1 wide
short and down the leg side, poor start from Balaji
end of over 173 runs • 1 wicket
AFG: 119/7CRR: 7.00 • RRR: 13.66
Gulbadin Naib3 (5b)
Najibullah Zadran0 (0b)
Ravichandran Ashwin 4-0-20-2
Zaheer Khan 3-0-32-0
16.6
•
Ashwin to Gulbadin, no run
the carrom ball first up, watchfully defended by Gulbodin
16.5
W
Ashwin to M Nabi, OUT
Ashwin has got the dangerman, he pauses an eternity before delivering, waiting to see what the batsman will do, Nabi charges out to meet the delivery, looks to hammer it but edges it, loops towards mid-off where Rohit awaits
Mohammad Nabi c Sharma b Ashwin 31 (17b 2x4 2x6 23m) SR: 182.35
16.4
1
Ashwin to Gulbadin, 1 run
swings this one towards deep midwicket
Best performances - batters
Spike Graph
Wagon Zone
IND
50 runs (39)
4 fours2 sixes
Productive shot
off side drive on front foot
26 runs
4 fours1 six
Control
87%
IND
38 runs (33)
6 fours0 six
Productive shot
off side drive on front foot
12 runs
1 four0 six
Control
70%
Match details
| R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo | |
| Toss | Afghanistan, elected to field first |
| Series | |
| Season | 2012/13 |
| Player Of The Match | |
| Match number | T20I no. 265 |
| Hours of play (local time) | 19.30 start, First Session 19.30-20.50, Interval 20.50-21.10, Second Session 21.10-22.30 |
| Match days | 19 September 2012 - night (20-over match) |
| T20I debut | |
| Umpires | |
| TV Umpire | |
| Reserve Umpire | |
| Match Referee | |
| Points | India 2, Afghanistan 0 |
Match Coverage
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