India beat Afghanistan by 66 runs in the 33rd match of the T20 World Cup at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Chasing a big target of 211, Afghanistan scored 144 for seven in 20 overs. Karim Janat (42) and Sharafuddin Ashraf (2) remained unbeaten.
For India, Mohammad Shami took three wickets and Ashwin two.
Afghanistan's first out was Mohammad Shehzad, who was bowled out for zero by Mohammad Shami.
In the next over, Hazratullah Zazai caught the ball of Bamra while playing big shots. He scored 13 runs.
The third out was Rehmanullah Garbaz, who scored 19 off two sixes and caught Ravindra Jadeja on the boundary in an attempt to hit a six.
Afghanistan suffered the fourth loss of Gulbuddin Naib, he scored 18 runs and became LBW on the ball of Ashwin.
The fifth out was Najib Zadran, who also fell victim to Ashwin.After that, Muhammad Nabi and Karim Janat shared 57 runs for the sixth wicket, after which Nabi scored 35 runs and was caught by Muhammad Shami.
Shami also sent Rashid Khan back to the pavilion in the same over.
Earlier, India scored 210 for two in the allotted 20 overs. Rishbh Pant (27) and Hardik Pandya (35) remained unbeaten.
When India started their innings, the momentum was in favor of the Indian team from the beginning. KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma hit six fours to the Afghan bowlers, forming a 140-run partnership.
After that Rohit Sharma played an innings of 74 runs and was caught by Karim Janat.
KL Rahul also could not stay on the wicket for long and scored 69 runs and got out on the ball of Gulbadin Naib.
Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bowl first in the match being played at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.After winning the toss, Afghan captain Mohammad Nabi said, "There is a lot of dew in the second innings, so we decided to bowl first."
In case of defeat in today's match, the chances of India reaching the semi-finals will be completely eliminated.
After losing the toss, Indian captain Virat Kohli said, "There is no doubt that the situation is complicated for India."
Surya Kumar Yadav and Ravi Chandran Eshwan have returned to the Indian team for this important match. Mujeeb and Asghar are not included in the Afghanistan team but Sharafuddin Ashraf has been given a chance.
