Twitter Reactions: Sensational Sam Curran powers England to hard fought victory against Afghanistan

England got off to a winning start in the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup after defeating Afghanistan by five wickets. Sam Curran registered a phenomenal five-for to become the first Englishman to take a five-wicket haul in the shortest format of the game, restricting the Asian outfit to a below-par 112 runs after Jos Buttler had won the toss and elected to bowl first in the match.

Chasing a modest total, England made a sedated start to their innings as neither Jos Buttler nor Alex Hales managed to get into top gear during their stay at the crease. The influential English skipper was dismissed just before the powerplay, and his opening partner followed suit in the ninth over.

The Afghanistan bowlers put on a valiant effort defending a mediocre total as they kept chipping away at the wickets at regular intervals. But Liam Livingstone's brisk 29 off 21 deliveries was enough to seal a comfortable victory for his side in the end. England got home with five wickets in the hut and ten deliveries to spare.

Sam Curran stole the show with a five star bowling performance

Earlier in the match, Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to field first in their first match of the Super 12 stage. Buttler's decision was rewarded instantly after Rahmanullah Gurbaz was sent back cheaply by Mark Wood, who dished out a fiery spell with the new ball in hand. 

Hazratullah Zazai was put out of his misery by star all-rounder Ben Stokes just after the powerplay, in the seventh over of the match. Ibrahim Zadran, Afghanistan's top scorer in the match, consolidated with his run a ball 32 along with Usman Ghani (30 off 30). But the Afghan batters never kicked on after the early stutter and eventually faded for a below-par 112 runs, failing to even play out their 20 overs.

While Mark Wood blew away the opposing batters with his rapid deliveries, it was the Sam Curran show for the English side as the mercurial all-rounder registered a career-best figure of 5/10, the best figure by an Englishman in the format. Ben Stokes also impressed with the new ball, scalping two wickets.

Here is how Twitter reacted to an entertaining affair in Perth: