Suryakumar Yadav has smashed his second successive half-century and Jasprit Bumrah proved his worth with the ball again as India beat Afghanistan by 47 runs in a strong start to their Super 8-stage campaign at the T20 World Cup.
Electing to bat in the group 1 game, India posted a strong 8-181, on the back of a 60-run stand between Suryakumar (53) and Hardik Pandya (32).
When they returned to defend the total, pace spearhead Bumrah (3-7) rattled Afghanistan with his double strike in the powerplay overs.
Fellow seamer Arshdeep Singh also claimed three wickets (3-36) and spinners Kuldeep Yadav (2-32) and Axar Patel (1-15) shared three more wickets as Afghanistan were all out for 134 in exactly 20 overs.
Singh removed Rashid Khan and Naveen-ul-Haq with successive deliveries but was denied a hat-trick.
Yadav smacked his 53 off 28 balls — his fifth T20 World Cup half-century — while hitting three sixes and five fours. Pandya’s cameo came off 24 balls, including two sixes.
India’s next Super 8 game is on Saturday, against Bangladesh in Antigua, while Afghanistan will play Australia in St Vincent on the same day.
Source Agencies
