Afghanistan v India - as it happened

Preamble: I've wandered in to discover the game starts in less than half-an-hour, so the adrenaline is now pumping. It's the best way to get warmed up, no time for nerves. Anyway, read this and this for some excellent insight on the Afghanistan team (and their desire to eat at Pizza Hut) from Andy Bull, and get ready for some Caribbean hit'n'giggle between two of the subcontinent's most exciting 20-over teams (no, seriously) ... Ones to watch: I'm still not certain of each team's line-ups, so this is a bit of a punt ... but I'll suggest the likes of Noor Ali, Mohammad Nabi and Karim Sadiq (who explains nonchalently hitting Shoaib Akhtar for consecutive boundaries thus: "I am a very good batsman, very quick reflexes") for Afghanistan; and for India, the peerless Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni and, if he plays, Suresh Raina, who had a marvelous IPL. Having heard so much about Afghanistan's inexorable rise through the associate nation ranks, it's going to be quite exciting to see them actually play. Whether they put on more of a showing than Ireland did against the West Indies yesterday remains to be seen. Mention of Afghanistan's "fairytale" journey already from Charles Colvile in the Sky studio. This is the first time the two countries have met, it's almost needless to say. India have won the toss and put the Afghans in. Teams in a mo ... Teams: Afghanistan: Noor Ali, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Nowroz Mangal (capt), Hamid Hassan, Raees Ahmadzai, Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shenwari, Asghar Stanikzai, Shapoor Zadran, Dawlat Ahmadzai India: M Vijay, G Gambhir, SK Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (capt/wk), YK Pathan, RA Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, P Kumar, Z Khan, A Nehra So no Sehwag. Bah. Is he injured? First over: Afghanistan 3-0 (Ali 1, Sadiq 0) Praveen Kumar, right-arm quick, opens the bowling for India and his first delivery arcs menacingly in and out of the corridor. Ali is not quite tempted to play at his first World Twenty20 delivery but he has a dash at the second to no avail. Afghanistan pick up two leg-byes, Ali attempting to tuck an errant delivery off of his pads, but he gets bat on the next ball for a single. Sadiq is then beaten past his outside edge advancing down the wicket ( advancing down the wicket in the first over!! ) ... and then fails to connect with an almighty yahoo off the last ball. No dramas yet. WICKET! Sadiq 0 c Dhoni b Nehra (Afghanistan 6-1) Sadiq, who clearly backs himself, steps to leg and throws his bat at Nehra's fourth ball but it's a bit too quick and bounces a bit too much on him, nicking his glove and going on through to Dhoni. So he's not quit that good, then. Second over: Afghanistan 8-1 (Ali 4, Shazhad 2) Ali, who already appears comfortable at the crease, took three from the first two balls of Asish Nehra's first over before he lost his opening partner. Mohammad Shahzad picks up two from his first ball. 3rd over: Afghanistan 18-1 (Ali 14, Shazhad 2) Ali collects the first boundary of the day, clipping one down to fine leg for four. He then plays a delightful back-foot drive for another four of the last ball of the over. Fourteen from 12 balls for the opener, who's playing nicely. WICKET! Shazhad 6, c Dhoni b Nehra (Afghanistan 22-2) An almost identical dismissal to Sadiq's and the Afghanistan players' commitment to living and dying by the flashing blade has cost them again. It was a legside bouncer, which certainly hit Shazhad's helmet but may have snicked the top edge on the way through. Not entirely sure of that though ... 4th over: Afghanistan 22-2 (Ali 14, Mangal 0) The captain, Nowroz Mangal, comes to the crease but is unable to get off the mark against Nehra. The only runs in the end came from the first ball, which Shazhad pulled sweetly through midwicket for four – a confidence-boosting shot which perhaps brought on his downfall two balls later. 5th over: Afghanistan 29-2 (Ali 15, Mangal 5) Zaheer Khan comes on for a bit of left-arm seam. Ali picks up a single before Mangal plays almost a baseball shot down to long-on for four. Here's Jacob Reed: "What an awesome day for the Afghans. I had the pleasure of watching a home game when they played a Ditchling XI captained by Jamie Theakston at the International military HQ in the middle of Kabul last year. Ditchling got spanked by 150-odd runs in a 50 over match . Different game today, but they'll hopefully be everyone's second team and give a big boost to those watching at home." I remember reading about that game, and thinking of the distance Jamie Theakston has to go to get a bit of favourable publicity these days. WICKET! Mangal 5, c Gambhir b Jadeja (Afghanistan 29-3) Mangal had been unable to get Jadeja's left-arm orthodox off the square and finally loses his patience, opening his body and chipping straight to mid-off. 6th over: Afghanistan 29-3 (Ali 15, Shenwari Stanikzai 0) Jadeja picks up a wicket maiden in his first over. Spinners are so important in T20, because batsmen have to put their own pace on the ball – something that undid Mangal. 7th over: Afghanistan 33-3 (Ali 18, Shenwari Stanikzai 1) Yuvraj comes on to chuck a few pies. Afghanistan push the score on by four. Here's Andy Bull, who's probably sitting in a deckchair wearing flip-flops: "In St Lucia the tournament has only just started and there is already one obvious flaw: the ground is half empty. No four-fifths empty. There are a smattering of Indian fans and no locals at all. Which is unsurprising really given that it is 9.30am. Hopefully the ground will fill up as the day goes on. At the moment a man dressed up as Chester Cheetah is treating the hundreds here to an ear-bashing MC set, screaming "they're so tasty, they're so fresh" at us while a vicious ragga beat pounds underneath. Really. I'm not making this up. "Anyway, India are sleepwalking into this match - they have not played any warm-ups, and the team were spotted out late last night in the bars near their hotel. They will probably get away with it given that they are bowling first, but the odds on the Afghans pulling off an improbable win should certainly be shorter than an absurd 16-1. Probably longer now. This is Twenty20 after all. That said they will certainly get dismissed for 35 now I have written that. Ireland seemed to be similarly jinxed by the piece I wrote yesterday on their campaign to play Test cricket inside ten years. I'm thinking of publishing a retraction..." 8th over: Afghanistan 35-3 (Ali 19, Shenwari Stanikzai 2) Dhoni rotates Jadeja out of the attack for Harbhajan Singh, who befuddles both batsmen with his doosra. Just two off the over, as Indian tighten the screw. What about you lot out there? Excited by this second World Twenty20 inside 10 months? No, thought not. 9th over: Afghanistan 40-3 (Ali 24, Shenwari Stanikzai 2) Ali clubs Jadeja over mid-off for another four. He's looked quite serene, so far, in marked contrast to his team-mates, who've rapidly lost their heads (and their wickets). Let's see if Shenwari Stanikzai can hang around with him. Here's Bull again: "Anyone who wants to support the development of cricket in schools in Afghanistan should go here and buy a 'Proud to be an Afghan' tee-shirt. It is a great site, run by the lovely Leslie Knott, who has been making a documentary on the topic for the last two years or so. Any money you spend will certainly be siphoned in the right direction and used responsibly. Dig deep folks." 10th over: Afghanistan 43-3 (Ali 26, Shenwari Stanikzai 3) Harbhajan is so hard to play on this dry, bouncy surface. He spits one right through the gate as Ali comes tentatively forward, but it misses the timbers. The other thing about spinners is that they don't half race through the overs, phew ... 11th over: Afghanistan 52-3 (Ali 28, Shenwari Stanikzai 9) Shenwari Stanikzai raises the 50 for Afghanistan by stepping nimbly down the crease to Jadeja and hammering a DHL maximum (what are they called at this tournament?) way over wide long-on. That's him out of his shell, then. 12th over: Afghanistan 57-3 (Ali 32, Shenwari Stanikzai 10) Good running from the men in dark blue sees them keep things ticking over against Harbhajan. I can tell that the 'Yahoo!' jingle they play between every over is going to really delight the fans at the grounds and increase the company's exposure get annoying by the end of this tournament. 13th over: Afghanistan 69-3 (Ali 34, Stanikzai 19) Yusuf Pathan, Shane Warne's cricketer of the century, comes one for a dobble, and sends down a filthy wide first ball. And then the batsman who I've been calling Shenwari for the last six overs suddenly turns into Asghar Stanikzai (and no mention of whose mistake this is on the commentary, grumble, grumble). Stanikzai was Shenwari then blaps another massive six over the ropes. 14th over: Afghanistan 79-3 (Ali 42, Stanikzai 21) What can I say, I didn't recognise him? So, to clarify, it's Noor Ali and Asghar Stanikzai at the crease and it has been since the sixth over. And after a wobble early on, these two are batting in fine style, just moving the run-rate up a notch now. Ali smacks Zaheer's first ball for four as 10 come from the over. 15th over: Afghanistan 81-3 (Ali 43, Stanikzai 22) Just as Ian Chapple compliments the Afghans for keeping things simple in their run accumulation, Ali attempts two pre-meditated reverse sweeps in a row. Neither gets a run and Chapple is vindicated. An orthodox cut off the final ball also fails to beat the man in the gully, as Jadeja finishes his spell for impressive figures of 4-1-15-1. 16th over: Afghanistan 95-3 (Ali 49, Stanikzai 29) Boom! goes the dynamite, as Stanikzai gets down on one knee and drags a huge mow from outside off-stump over the midwicket boundary. With just four more overs left, the Afghans are well set for a competitive total here. And wides can only help their cause. Good running helps Ali up to 49 from just 44 balls. And they've now seen of Harbhajan (4-0-24-0) too ... WICKET! Ali 50, c Dhoni b Nehra (Afghanistan 97-4) Just as I typed this: "If there's one area the Afghan players have not looked so comfortable, it's been against the short ball (perhaps understandably given their lack of experience against genuine quicks)" ... Nehra picks up his third carbon-copy wicket. Ali played very well for his half-century but he's gone at a potentially crucial juncture. 17th over: Afghanistan 97-4 (Stanikzai 30, Nabi 0) Nehra's return was marked by an expertly pitched bouncer and, after conceding just a couple of singles, that's how he bagged Ali as well, the hook top-edged through to the keeper. Very good over for India. WICKET! Stanikzai 30, c Zaheer b Kumar (Afghanistan 97-5) Ah, that's corked it – Stanikzai, the established batsman at the other end, skies an attempted pull to midwicket. WICKET! Nabi 0, c Dhoni b Kumar (Afghanistan 97-6) Another one, two in two balls! Nabi goes for the full-blooded swipe this time and, incredibly, that's the fifth wicket to fall from a short-pitched delivery. 18th over: Afghanistan 100-6 (Shenwari 1, Ahmadzai 1) It seems Samiullah Shenwari is now at the crease. Kumar throws in a couple full-bungers for good measure – though his hat-trick ball yorker is kept out – and limits the damage to just three runs (plus the two wickets). WICKET! Shenwari 7, run out (Afghanistan 107-7) Shenwari creamed a four out through the covers but then got stitched up by the non-striker Ahmadzai, who turned back after Shenwari had called a tight single. It was Shenwari running to the danger end ... but he has to keep running right back to the changing rooms. 19th over: Afghanistan 108-7 (Ahmadzai 3, Hassan 1) The fast bowler Hamid Hassan comes to the crease and squeezes a single from the last ball. Can Afghanistan get a big last over to set India something slightly more troubling? WICKET! Hassan 6, c Nehra, b Zaheer (Afghanistan 114-8) Having miscued a pull off the top edge which looped well over Dhoni's head for four, Hassan plays a more pre-meditated stroke the next ball but succeeds only in driving straight into the hands of Nehra at mid-off. Just one ball left in the over ... 20th over: Afghanistan 115-8 (Ahmadzai 5, Zadran 0) The last ball was well-delivered by Zaheer, giving Ahmadzai no room and the Afghans can only muster a single. So, a respectable total in the end but probably not one that will stretch India overly. The 68-run partnership between Noor Ali and Asghar Stanikzai aside, Afghanistan struggled. Understandably, they looked a little green, though it was a classy knock from Ali ... Let's see how their attack fares. Back in a bit. INNINGS BREAK Any cricket tragics out there? I'm assuming only the die-hards are going to follow Afghanistan v India in this ICC-sponsored farce, let alone email in. Feel free to do so, though, you'll almost certainly garner a wee bit of e-fame (not much recompense for literally seconds of your time, I know, but it's the best I can offer). Oh, and click this link if you're a good person (or if you want to see naked lovelies*). *Well, you're only ever a couple of clicks away, aren't you? Huzzahs!! An email! "From Steve Waugh's brother's nickname [ Afghanistan, the 'forgotten war' - AG] to setting India a chase in the World T20. I usually hate the patronising "fairytale" talk in sport, which is, after all, a pretty brutal, meritocratic, sentiment-free zone (ask Tom Watson), but the story of these lads is so unlikely that fairytale is the right word. "Add two wickits to t'score" says Sir Geoffrey – if India are 0-2, the panic will set in!" Welcome as ever, it's Gary Naylor. 1st over: India 16-0 (Gambhir 2, Vijay 13) India need 100 to win Here we go then. Sehwag is injured, so Murali Vijay opens with Gautam Gambhir. The left-handed Gambhir ticks the first ball – which is also a no-ball from Dawlat Ahmadzai – for a single, and Vijay then steps back to sit deep in his crease for the free hit, clumping a straight four down towards long-off. Dawlat drops short on the penultimate ball of the over but there's not enough pace to trouble Vijay who slaps it out of the ground. He then miscues a pull from the last ball but it falls just safe. 2nd over: India 19-0 (Gambhir 4, Vijay 14) India need 97 to win Gambhir tucks another single off his legs from Shapoor Zadran's opening delivery. Then – perhaps a little gamesmanship from Vijay? – after Zadran takes some time to find his mark, Vijay steps away just as the bowler gets into his delivery stride. Someone moving behind Zadran's arm. Anyway, the tall, whippy Zadran has the last word, inducing a play-and-a-miss from the batsman. He's got quite a nice, rolling left-arm action, this fella, with just three singles conceded. This is what I'm talking about: "I'd just like to let you know that I'm loving the coverage of the India Afghanistan game," email Dom Gordon. "An impressive performance from an unknown Afghan team, I doubt it will be enough to overcome India though. Come on Afghans!!" I think we might know a few of them come the end, Dom. WICKET! Gambhir 4, c Nabi b Dawlat (India 19-1) India need 97 to win Gambhir advanced on Dawlat but checked his drive somewhat and the ball flew square into the covers where a delighted Nabi snaffled the catch! Shouldn't make too much of a difference – but Twenty20 does do funny things sometimes. 3rd over: India 24-1 (Vijay 14, Raina 5) India need 92 to win Dawlat kept that over tight until the final two deliveries, which Suresh Raina – the man who won Chennai the IPL last weekend – got away for a two and a three, with the ball holding up on the outfield a little. 4th over: India 27-1 (Vijay 15, Raina 6) India need 89 to win More problems for Vijay behind the bowler's arm. C'mon, people, sit down. And watch the game. Zadran has found a good rhythm, beating Raina's outside edge with a peach of a delivery outside off. A little vignette of 'pwopah cricket' there. Here's Tim Lawrence on cricket tragics: "Might well be one of these but that still doesn't reach the heights of tragedy I have observed at East Croydon. A train [should that be man? – AG] spotted waving at the trains as they come past, saving a thumbs up for the Gatwick express. All over by the 15th." He doesn't look quite so sad after that little typo, eh Tim? Trains waving at trains? Was it Thomas the Tank Engine, by any chance? 5th over: India 41-1 (Vijay 16, Raina 18) India need 75 to win The allrounder Mohammad Nabi comes on for a dart of right-arm over, but after taking a couple of balls to size him up Raina slashes a four through the legside. He then fails to cash in on a free hit ... but next ball launches a Dorothy over the rope. The man on the boundary almost took an astonishing diving catch, though he would have had to defy gravity to have brought it back into play. WICKET! Raina 18, lbw Shenwari (India 46-2) India need 70 to win Ah ha, gottim! Shenwari replaces Zadran and raps Raina on the pads with a regulation legspinner's delivery which pitched in line and held to the left-hander. Raina tried to play across his front pad but mistimed his stroke. 6th over: India 47-2 (Vijay 21, Yuvraj 1) India need 69 to win So, that dismissal brings in Yuvraj Singh, which I'm sure will please the Afghan bowlers. You want to test yourself against the best, of course. Vijay cut a text-book four earlier in the over, to keep India rumbling along. 7th over: India 53-2 (Vijay 23, Yuvraj 5) India need 63 to win A bit of poor fielding from Zadran means a single becomes three. They're not been quite up to spit in that regard, Afghanistan, but no howlers yet. Murali Vijay continues to look in excellent touch. "I don't understand why everyone in the country isn't glued to their computer screen on the strength of this one!" exclaims Rory Porter. "I was trying to write an essay on the similarities between Italian Futurism and German Expressionism when whaddaya know, a game of this calibre demands my attention so much more. It's your loss Britain, it really is." 8th over: India 58-2 (Vijay 25, Yuvraj 7) India need 58 to win Shenwari is bowling some very tidy legspin, hurrying it on to the Indian pair who, despite their experience against the slow stuff, haven't been able to get on top of him. Not that the really need to at this rate; they're halfway there. 9th over: India 64-2 (Vijay 29, Yuvraj 9) India need 52 to win Karim Sadiq comes on for a twirl. Let's see if he's a bit more circumspect as a bowler than as a batsman ... if not, expect beamers and and slow bouncers. In the event, it was just singles. "Predictive text turned trainspotter into train spotted," explains Tim Lawrence. "Thanks technology for contributing to an OBO debut put-down. Probably the equivalent of being hauled off after one over at a new club." That's the machines' secret agenda, Tim: make humans look stupid whenever possible. 10th over: India 67-2 (Vijay 30, Yuvraj 10) India need 49 to win Hamid Hassan is brought into the attack by Nowroz Mangal. Yuvraj hasn't set off any fireworks yet – he's going along at less than a run a ball. Still, India are taking a very professional approach to this chase. 11th over: India 83-2 (Vijay 34, Yuvraj 19) India need 33 to win What was I saying about Yuvraj taking things slowly? Bit of a shocker from Sadiq, who saw a no-ball launched into the stands for six and then bowled a wide on the free hit. Yuvraj doesn't quite find the rope from the legitimate ball, but adds another couple. The ignominy continues for Afghanistan as Vijay sends his shot straight up in the air only for Hassan to spill the chance running in from long-off. 16 off the over in the end. 12th over: India 88-2 (Vijay 35 , Yuvraj 23) India need 28 to win Hassan continues his solid spell, with just a couple of twos and a single coming from the over. Tom vd Gucht has an idea. "The BBC should stump up the cash to produce a TV show called Cricket in the Dangerzone, where players are sent off to play exhibition matches in some of the worlds most inhospitable places. This could include envoys to countries considered unsafe due to risk of terrorism or wars, such as Afghanistan and Somalia, whilst also sending players to areas that are naturally dangerous like Antarctica or deep into the Amazon. Obviously it would be too expensive to insure top flight players would remain safe, but I'm sure a few down on their luck county seconds players would jump at the chance to make a name for themselves." 13th over: India 101-2 (Vijay 48, Yuvraj 23) India need 15 to win Murali Vijay moves to the brink of an impressive half-century by slamming two massive sixes from consecutive Mohammad Nabi deliveries. Both were with a straight bat, back over the bowlers head – a real joy to watch. Rather than try to end it in this over, though, Vijay settles back into his crease and takes just one run from the next four balls. WICKET! Vijay 48, c Zadran b Hassan (India 101-3) India need 15 to win Having scored one from seven balls after those two maximums, Vijay holes out two short of his 50 off Hassan. 14th over: India 102-3 (Yuvraj 23, Dhoni 1) India need 14 to win Despite it being in vain, that was an excellent over from Hassan, who conceded just the one run. With the batsmen back in the crease, he's pitched it up nicely and has the figures, and wicket, to show for it. 15th over: India 116-3, win by seven wickets (Yuvraj 23, Dhoni 15) Mangal brings himself on and MS Dhoni, arch finisher that he is, thrashes another pair of huge sixes back over his opposite number's head. A comfortably-run two off the penultimate ball then completes victory for India, Dhoni ending with 15 not out from six balls. I should think they'll be happy with that, the 2007 champions. They exhibited no sense of complacency and everyone got a good run out against a game Afghanistan side. It was an historic occasion, and the Afghans certainly didn't let themselves down; I'll certainly look forward to seeing a bit more of them over the course of the tournament. Cheers for your emails. See ya