Kamran Akmal congratulates India, praises Afghanistan after thrilling clash

Keeping aside the political tension between India and Pakistan, wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal congratulated the Men in Blue after their thrilling win over Afghanistan on Saturday. In-form India were being widely tipped to have an easy outing against Afghanistan. However, the least experienced team of the World Cup stretched India to the fullest before losing the cliffhanger by just 11 runs in Southampton.

With the pitch not very helpful for batting, India huffed and puffed to reach 224 for 8 in the allotted 50 overs thanks to fifties from Virat Kohli and Kedar Jadhav. Afghanistan bowlers kept a tight line throughout and did not allow the Indians to break the shackles at any stage. In reply, the Afghans were well placed at 106 for 2 looking steady and in shape to win. But they soon started losing wickets at crucial junctures and found themselves 6 down for 166.

However, Mohammad Nabi held it firm from one end and kept the chase alive. The equation was finally down to 12 runs from the last over with three wickets in hand. Nabi could not have asked for a better start to the proceedings as he dispatched Mohammed Shami for a four and also reached his fifty. But one ball later, Shami dismissed Nabi and went on to complete a fine hat-trick to steer India to a win.

After the game, Kamran Akmal took to Twitter to laud India and praise Afghanistan’s fight. Pointing out the impressive performers in the game, Kamran Akmal tweeted: “Congrats Indian team @BCCI.Well bowled by M.Shami and other bowlers.Good fight back @ACBofficials.Good all round performance by @MohammadNabi007 & well played @rashidkhan_19 @GbNaib”

Congrats Indian team @BCCI.Well bowled by M.Shami and other bowlers.Good fight back @ACBofficials.Good all round performance by @MohammadNabi007 & well played @rashidkhan_19 @GbNaib

— Kamran Akmal (@KamiAkmal23) June 22, 2019

‘Very important game’

Meanwhile, India skipper Virat Kohli was pleased with the stiff challenge his team faced as he lauded the character shown by his teammates. Kohli said that the team would take confidence from the win for the remainder of the competition.

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“This game was way more important to be honest as I said it didn’t go as plan. But when things don’t go your way, you need to show some character and bounce back and fight till the last ball and that shows the character of the team. We take a lot of heart from this win and take the confidence going forward,” said Kohli.