Eng v Afg World T20 Review: England dig deep to pull off a win at Kotla

England won the toss and elected to bat in their World T20 match against Afghanistan in Delhi in the first men’s T20I at the Feroz Shah Kotla and the decision turned out to be right but not before it needed a huge recovery from England’s lower order batsmen. After being reduced to 85/7 in 14.3 overs, Moin Ali and David Willey remained unbeaten and batted splendidly to take their team to a competitive total of 142 which proved enough in the end. England bowlers stuck to their plans and did well to give their team a much-needed win that also saved another embarrassment at a world event.

James Vince came into the England side for Alex Hales, who had a stiff back, while Liam Plunkett was preferred to Reece Topley, who has an economy rate  of 13.20 runs per over – the worst amongst England bowlers in the previous two games. Plunkett was selected ahead of the extra spin of Liam Dawson though the pitch still assisted the spinners.

Asghar Stanikzai, the Afghanistan captain, admitted that he, too, would have chosen to bat. Afghanistan made one change, with Shafiqullah, who played against Sri Lanka, coming back to strengthen the batting, in place of a bowler in Dawlat Zadran, the right-arm medium pacer.

England’s record against Associate nations in the World T20 leaves them no room for complacency. They were defeated by the Netherlands in 2009 and 2014 and Bangladesh also had the better of them on two occasions in a 50-over World Cup. The fear of a repeat looked likely after England got off to a reasonable start against the Afghans.

Amir Hamza (1/45) cleaned up Jason Roy (5) in off the last ball of the third over to however Vince (22 off 18) and Joe Root (12 of 8) took the score to 42 in the 6th over before Mohammad Nabi (2/17) took the return catch of Vince. The next ball saw the wicket of skipper Eoin Morgan (0) who left a ball that didn’t turn, came in and knocked his stumps. The lat ball of the over witnessed a run-out of Root that suddenly put England under pressure on 42/4.

Ben Stokes made 7 before going for a pull shot off leggie Rashid Khan (2/17). The googly, short of a length, was too quick and stayed low that took the inside edge of Stokes’ bat and rattled the stumps. Samiullah Shenwari (1/23) took the huge wicket of Jos Buttler (6) however it was Nabi who made it possible with a spectacular catch at cover.

Chris Jordan contributed a valuable 15 off 18 before giving a return catch to Khan. Moin Ali’s temperament and class was evident in his knock of 41 off 33 balls. He spanked 4 fours and 1 six and led the England recovery. He was well supported by Willey who made 20 off 17 including 2 massive sixes. The 19th over from Hamza went for 25 and proved a huge difference in the end.

Mohammad Shahzad edged the first ball for 4 however Willey (2/23) had his man lbw in the same over. Root took a sharp catch off Jordan (1/27) in slip to dismiss skipper Stanikzai (1) while Willey had Gulbadin Naib (0) caught by Stokes that reduced the Afghans to 13/3 in 3 over. Morgan at cover took a sharp catch off Ali (1/17) to send back Khan for 15.

Noor Ali Zadran’s 17 off 19 was ended by Adil Rashid (2/18) after he gave the leggie a simple return catch. Rashid then took the wicket of Nabi (12) after he lured the right-hander to go for a big one. Nabi had hit a massive 6 earlier however this time miscued one to Jordan at wide long-on. Shenwari made 22 off 27 but was dismissed by Stokes (1/28). Shafiqullah witnessed two run-outs however it didn’t stop him from hammering an unbeaten 35 off 20 including 4 fours and 2 sixes that took his side close but not over the line. Plunkett justified his selection by bowling 4 economical overs for just 12 runs.

Brief Scores:

England: 142/7 in 20 overs (M Ali 41*; M Nabi 2/7, R Khan 2/17)

Afghanistan: 127/9 in 20 overs (Shafiqullah 35*; A Rashid 2/18)

Player of the Match: Moin Ali (England)

How did Twitter react to Afghanistan’s spirited show? – Twitter Reactions: England beat Afghanistan to keep their World T20 hopes alive