India’s campaign at the T20 World Cup is turning out to be drastically different from what we had imagined it to be.
From being touted as one of the top contenders to win the title, India is now struggling to make a place in the semi-finals. And so…it may not be the best time for this throwback, but remember what happened last year at the ODI World Cup?
And, that’s how we sealed the game against Afghanistan & that’s how the standings look post the game #TeamIndia #INDvAFG #CWC19 🇮🇳🇮🇳😎 pic.twitter.com/JGGiL4Da5w
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 22, 2019
Afghanistan almost defeated us. They needed 16 runs from the last over, which they could not score because Mohammad Shami did his thing in the end, but it was scary, to say the least. They were almost there.
Phew! Made to work hard for that one. Full marks to Afghanistan, pushed India till the finish line. Champion spell by hattrick hero @MdShami11 #INDVAFG #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/DuxZOsFFgR
— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) June 22, 2019
Batting first, India scored 224 runs, which wasn’t a brilliant score. However, our bowlers were (and are) the best in the world, so the pressure was on Afghanistan
Knowing that the run rate was not a big issue, Team Afghanistan focused on saving the wickets. And they succeeded, too. They lost their first wicket in the 6th over, second in the 16th and third in the 28th.
Even if India wins today’s match they should not get relaxed until they win Afghanistan !! 2019 world cup Ind vs Afghanistan was a very close match #staraikelungal @starsportstamil
— Akshay prakash (@aprakash270) October 31, 2021
Hat-trick-Shami to finish it off. How many teams would have finished the game so clinically. Well done India.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) June 22, 2019
Even after that, they kept things steady and if it were not for Shami’s hattrick in the last over, they may have won. There is no reason to completely rule that out.
Team India got out of that tense situation, somehow, and was humble in victory, as it should have been.
What a game. Hats off to @ACBofficials for their tremendous courage and skills in giving India a run for their money. Fantastic effort from @MohammadNabi007 but India holding their nerves in the end. #INDvAFG
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) June 22, 2019
This was Jasprit Bumrah’s comment after the match:
When you run behind wickets, you don’t get wickets. We wanted to create pressure and take the run rate high. It was a tight game.
Captain Virat Kohli also said that the match was “right up there”.
Such a nail-biter that
— Yusuf Pathan (@iamyusufpathan) June 22, 2019
Amazing amazing bowling by all our bowlers. @Jaspritbumrah93 , @yuzi_chahal and that hat-trick @MdShami11 stole the show
Afghanistan played well but India had the winning edge. #TrueChampionTeam #AFGvIND #WorldCup19
Mohammad Nabi had turned out to be the star for Afghanistan with his 55-ball-52.
He had also taken two crucial wickets of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, which had almost dropped the game in his team’s bag.
That evening in Rose Bowl, India emerged victorious…ultimately. But it got the scare of its life. Let’s hope none of that happens today, we have nothing but conviction in our team.