World Twenty20: England post 15-run win over Afghanistan
They made 142/7 after a frightening mid-innings run when the score read 57/6.
England won its third match of the ICC World Twenty20 on Wednesday, defeating Afghanistan by 15 runs in New Delhi and keeping up their hopes to reach the semi-finals. The team, which won the toss and chose to bat first, posted 142/7 at the capital’s Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
The team overcame a threatening mid-innings run when the scorecard read 57/6, with Moeein Ali scoring 41 of 33 balls – he helped England hit 35 runs in the last two overs. The two decisive overs of the match were the 19th over of England’s innings, when Ali and David Willey hit hard, and the first over Afghanistan’s, when Mohammad Shahzad was dismissed. Even though their bowling continues to leave room for improvement, they restricted Afghanistan to 127/9.
This was a much-needed victory for England, after they lost two games earlier. Joe Root’s stunning 83 of 44 balls helped lead the team to its earlier victory over South Africa, after their abysmal loss to West Indies. So far, Afghanistan has lost all its matches in the tournament. Though they crossed the 150-mark in matches against Sri Lanka and South Africa, their inexperienced bowling has brought the team down.