T20 World Cup results: India beat Afghanistan by 47 runs in Super 8s – BBC Sport

Suryakumar was at his captivating best, mixing power with finesse as he threatened the boundary all round the ground.

A fierce sweep for six off Rashid was followed by two mighty maximums down the ground off Azmatullah and Farooqi – SKY both times delightfully holding the pose in his follow through.

He reached his fifty off 27 balls before falling next delivery as he miscued Farooqi to Mohammad Nabi at long-off.

Hardik Pandya provided welcome support, hitting two big sixes in his 32 off 24, while Axar Patel added a canny 12 off six late on to put India on top.

Those were crucial contributions after Afghanistan started well to remove India’s top three relatively cheaply.

Farooqi duped India captain Rohit Sharma with a slower ball to have him caught for eight, Rashid trapped Rishabh Pant for 20 and then removed Kohli for 24 when he picked out long-off.

Kohli’s form will be the main area of concern for India. He scored only five runs in three matches during the group stage and, one sublime six aside, again struggled for timing.

Regardless, this is the blueprint that makes India such a dangerous side as they seek a first T20 world title since the inaugural tournament in 2007 – set a big total and let their excellent bowling attack wreak havoc.

Bumrah foxed Rahmanullah Gurbaz with a cutter as he edged behind and drew fellow opener Hazratullah Zazai into a leading edge to gully, either side of Ibrahim Zadran slapping Axar straight to cover.

Afghanistan are often reliant on their top order and, once they were dismissed early, India squeezed the rest to ensure they fell well short of their target.

India next face Bangladesh in Antigua on Saturday (15:30 BST), while Afghanistan play Australia in St Vincent that night (01:30 BST).

Player of the match, India batter Suryakumar Yadav: “When I go into the game I’m very clear in my mind what I want to do.

“Rashid Khan is very difficult to pick, he’s the best bowler in the world, you can’t let him dominate, you have to be a step ahead. I managed to be on the right side.

India captain Rohit Sharma: “We adapted well and got 180, which was a great effort from the batters.

“We know Jasprit Bumrah’s class and what he can do. It’s important for us to use him smartly regardless of conditions.”

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan: “We could’ve done it had we executed smarter.

“My bowling has been coming out well, I am hitting the right areas consistently, but it’s the match result that matters most.”