Sharma and spinners destroy England

India 170 for 4 (Sharma 55*) beat England 80 (Harbhajan 4-12, Chawla 2-13) by 90 runs                                       The result may not have great significance in this World Twenty20 but India could take heart, confidence and bragging rights after an overwhelming victory over England in their Group A game in Colombo. England's confidence, meanwhile, must have been crushed after a defeat that can only be described as humiliating.

Both teams had already qualified for the Super Eight stage of the tournament and this result made no difference to the opposition they will face in those games. But, by inflicting such a resounding defeat on the reigning champions and No. 1-rated T20I side, India underlined the impression they have the personnel to challenge anyone in this competition.

India, despite resting three members of their first choice side, won by 90 runs with England's enduring fallibility against spin bowling exposed in brutal fashion once again. Bear in mind that these two teams face each other in a four-Test series in India in the coming months and alarm bells will surely be ringing at Lord's.

England's first error was to misread the pitch. While India included two specialist spinners, England dropped Samit Patel to make way for the extra seam option of Tim Bresnan. Their ploy of testing the India batsmen with short deliveries was met with a series of cut and pulls that suggested either that England's bowlers - Steven Finn apart - lack the pace for such a ploy, or that, in these conditions anyway, the reputation of Indian batsmen as flat-track bullies has been greatly exaggerated. The truth probably lies somewhere between the two conclusions.

But the defining feature of this match was England's inability to combat spin bowling. India's two frontline spinners claimed six wickets for 25 runs in eight overs as England collapsed from 39 for 2 to 60 for 9. At that stage, England were in danger of being dismissed for the lowest T20I score - beating the 67 by Kenya against Ireland - before a last-wicket stand of 20 prevented that one indignity. Still, England's final total of 80 was their lowest in T20Is, surpassing the 88 they managed against West Indies at The Oval in 2011. The margin of defeat is also the largest, in terms of runs, England have suffered in T20Is and the largest victory inflicted by India.

England were struggling even before the introduction of spin. Set 171 to win, a total some way above par on a pitch that was just a little slower than anticipated and did not allow England any time to settle in, they lost Alex Hales in the first over, bowled by inswing as he attempted to heave one over the leg side, before Luke Wright fell in the third over, attempting to pull a delivery too full for the stroke.

It was MS Dhoni's decision to introduce the spin of Harbhajan Singh in the Powerplay that precipitated England's decline. Harbhajan, playing his first international game for more than a year, produced a wicket maiden to start - Eoin Morgan was bowled by a quicker arm-ball as he made room to cut - before Bresnan top-edged a sweep, Jos Buttler gave himself room but missed and Graeme Swann skipped down the wicket and missed a doosra. Harbhajan finished with 4 for 12, the best figures by an Indian bowler in T20Is.Piyush Chawla also enjoyed England's clueless batting. Jonny Bairstow, reading the googly as if it were in Greek, missed a slog-sweep, while Craig Kieswetter, his foot nowhere near the pitch of the ball, was undone by a legbreak and edged to slip. It was, by any standards, a dreadful performance with the bat.

Earlier Rohit Sharma helped India plunder 51 from the final four overs of the innings after it appeared they had squandered a decent start. Sharma, who has endured some miserable form in recent times, produced a powerful innings of 55 in 33 balls to lead India to 170 for 4 in their 20 overs.

While a partnership of 57 in 7.5 overs between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir had built India a strong platform of 80 for 1 after 10 overs, a tight spell of bowling from Swann arrested their progress. Kohli, in particular, looked in sparkling form. He got off the mark with consecutive boundaries through the covers: the first a gorgeous, front-foot drive off Finn; the second a punch off the back foot off Stuart Broad. Bresnan's attempts to intimidate him with the short ball were met by an upper cut and then a pull for boundaries.

Gambhir lost little by comparison. He took successive boundaries off Jade Dernbach in the second over of the innings, first pulling a long-hop through midwicket before guiding a wider ball to point, while throwing his hands whenever offered any width and crashing boundaries through point off Finn and Broad.

Kohli gave one desperately difficult chance. On 25 he came down the wicket and, with that characteristic flick of the wrist, cracked Broad over midwicket where a leaping Swann could only get his fingertips on the ball as it raced to the boundary.

Swann was the one man to apply some control for England. Coming on after the six Powerplay overs had realised 52 runs for the loss of one wicket, his four overs conceded just 17 runs and produced the key wicket of Kohli who, beaten in the flight, lofted his attempted on-drive to deep midwicket.

It might have been better for Swann. Had wicketkeeper Kieswetter been able to gather cleanly, Gambhir might have been stumped on 26 with the score on 80 for 1. The batsman, deceived in the flight, was drawn down the wicket and stranded when Swann beat him but Kieswetter could only deflect the ball and allowed India to steal a bye.

Still, Swann's spell and the wicket of Kohli slowed India's run rate. From the halfway stage of the innings they were able to add only 39 from the next six overs as Broad shuffled his bowlers - England's captain bowled his four overs in four separate spells - to good effect.

The final four overs of the India innings brought 51 runs, however. First Rohit Sharma gave himself some room and dabbed a short ball from Broad over the vacant first slip area to the boundary before, next delivery, he took advantage of the short fine leg to pull another short delivery behind square to the boundary. In all the over cost 13.

It signalled the acceleration from India. Dhoni punished a full toss from Dernbach through the covers, before Sharma hit two more full tosses - one from Bresnan the other from Dernbach - for four and six to third man and point respectively. Sharma brought up his 50 - from just 31 balls - with a sweep off another full toss from Dernbach.

While Dhoni was brilliantly caught in the final over - Buttler, on the boundary, took the catch but, feeling himself falling over the boundary, threw the ball to Hales who completed the dismissal - the damage had been done. England's bowlers, who contributed eight wides and a plethora of full tosses and short balls, might not attract the criticism of their batting colleagues, but they were little more impressive.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s Powerplay (0-6) 16-20 overs NB/Wides India 34 18 1 52-1 56-2 0/8 England 52 8 3 39-3 NA 0/1

All-round Hafeez downs New Zealand

Pakistan 177 for 6 (Jamshed 56, Hafeez 43, Southee 2-31) beat New Zealand 164 for 9 (Nicol 33, Ajmal 4-30) by 13 runs                                                                                                                                              Pakistan's batting line-up is their weak link this tournament but its top order dominated New Zealand's bowling, leaving its own superior attack with a relatively easier task of defending a formidable total - one that was achieved successfully, albeit not without a scare. There was consolation for New Zealand: having brought down the margin of defeat to 13 runs, they ensured they reached a net run-rate high enough to take them through to the Super Eights.

Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed cashed in on a below-par performance from New Zealand in the field, putting together an impressive partnership during which their timing and apparent effortlessness in building on an aggressive opening stand stood out. The depth and variety in Pakistan's bowling, Hafeez's miserly spell and New Zealand's questionable tactics in the chase combined to put a target of 178 beyond reach, producing a winning start to Pakistan's tournament.

New Zealand had their chances. Hafeez decided to give his inconsistent batting the first go under sunny skies but in conditions where bowlers had assistance. Kyle Mills found early swing and should have had an initially-tentative Hafeez third ball, but Ross Taylor fluffed a straightforward chance at slip. Having dropped his Pakistan counterpart, the New Zealand captain was left flapping his lips when Hafeez launched Daniel Vettori for a six over long-on the next over.

Imran Nazir looked the more assured of the openers, using the depth of the crease well to dispatch Mills' two short deliveries for boundaries on either side of the ground, and continuing the treatment against Jacob Oram's half-trackers. Nazir fell in the last over of the Powerplay, caught and bowled by Tim Southee, but by then Hafeez had got into his groove with a couple of flowing drives and was about to be joined by a partner who wasted no time in keeping the momentum intact.

Tall, well-built and powerful, Jamshed was nowhere near brutal in his style of play. He didn't have to rely on sheer power to achieve what timing, placement and a sound technique did. Against Nathan McCullum's round-the-wicket line, he drove inside out, lofting the ball in the vacant space behind extra cover and clearing the ropes twice. He was equally wristy, clipping the ball square and through midwicket and slicing Mills over point for four. Mills was again unlucky, as a perfectly-positioned Rob Nicol at deep square leg spilled a chance off Jamshed, making matters worse by palming the ball for six when the batsman was on 42.

As Jamshed attacked at one end, Hafeez was content to rotate the strike, collecting runs down the ground, jabbing, steering and nudging the ball around for singles and even bludgeoning Nathan McCullum for six over midwicket. He was bowled trying to pull James Franklin in his first over but the 76-run stand with Jamshed had set an excellent launching pad.

New Zealand, though, pulled things back, dismissing Kamran Akmal and Jamshed in successive overs that yielded just 10. But Umar Akmal and the rest counterattacked in the last four. Even though Southee conceded just three in the 18th over, with third man and fine leg inside the circle, a generous dose of length, and misdirected, deliveries helped Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik score 42 in the last four.

New Zealand opened with Kane Williamson, a solid but less-attacking option, and played Vettori, busy, accumulative but not renowned as a big hitter, at No.3. The batting order suggested a strategy that relied heavily on the ammunition in the middle order to lead the surge in the late overs. Though that surge did come, and gave Pakistan plenty of anxious moments, it arrived at a time when the required-rate had reached 14 an over and, in hindsight, a touch too late.

Williamson made 15 in 13 but he had a fluent Rob Nicol at the other end. Nicol showed early intent, charging out to Sohail Tanvir and smacking him over long-on, and going over the top against Yasir Arafat with mid-off inside the circle. Pakistan bowled just one over of spin - from Hafeez, who conceded just 15 in his four-over spell - inside the Powerplay, and their slow bowlers stifled the innings once the field spread out.

Afridi mixed it up well and even found turn but Nicol was dislodged while attempting to cut one that went on straight. Williamson was run out shortly after, and the five overs after the Powerplay produced just 26 runs, with Vettori and Brendon McCullum at the crease. Saeed Ajmal's first over ended the deadlock with Brendon McCullum, who reverse-swept, stepped out and also cut well, picking him for boundaries. But with the asking rate climbing, the wickets came, Ajmal dismissing Vettori for 18 off 16 and Umar Gul yorking Brendon McCullum, who left his team with 70 needed off 29 balls. By then, Hafeez had completed his spell, with his first three overs only going for five runs.

It was too much to get in the end, despite Oram and Franklin's quick cameos and Taylor's assault of three fours in a row against Gul that brought down the equation to 22 off 9 balls. He was run-out brilliantly, courtesy a flat throw to the striker's end from the deep from Umar Akmal next ball, and the biggest threat in Pakistan's way, at that point, was eliminated.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s Powerplay (0-6) 16-20 overs NB/Wides Pakistan         41   15   7                 51-1           46-3         0/4 New Zealand        46   17   4                 57-0           56-6         0/5

Wright helps England start impressively

England 196 for 5 (Wright 99*) beat Afghanistan 80 (Naib 44, Patel 2-6, Broad 2-10) by 116 runs                              The World Twenty20 continued to conform to expectation - disappointingly so, some will say - as England began the defence of their title with a 116-run hammering of Afghanistan. Luke Wright could not quite follow Brendon McCullum's hundred earlier in the day, but produced a blistering 99 off 55 balls after the holders overcame a slightly tricky start in highly convincing fashion.

Wright became the second England batsman to be stranded one short of a Twenty20 hundred following Alex Hales' innings against West Indies earlier this year. Wright only returned to the line-up at the tail-end of the English season and had not really been earmarked for the No. 3 role until Ravi Bopara's rapid loss of form but, having made a brace of useful 30s in the warm-ups, provided further evidence of his development over the last year. He powered past his previous best of 71 against Netherlands, at Lord's, during the 2009 World Twenty20. England, famously, lost that match but there was never a risk of a repeat.

Unsurprisingly, Afghanistan came out swinging with predictable results. Mohammad Shahzad picked out mid-off, Shafiqullah skied to cover and the captain Nawroz Mangal was brilliantly held by Stuart Broad off his own bowling. Much has rightly been written and said about the fairytale of Afghanistan's rise, but this was a harsh of reality check as they slid to 26 for 8. However, they avoided the heaviest defeat in T20 which is Kenya's 172-run defeat against Sri Lanka in 2007 and Gulbodin Naib, with a gutsy display, ensured they passed Kenya's lowest T20 total of 67.

England, though, did exactly what they needed to. Wright was chiefly responsible for some fierce acceleration as they scored 124 off the second 10 overs of their innings after a slow start against some lively new-ball bowling. He started the final over on 95 and needed three off the last ball to make England's first T20 hundred but could only club a brace through midwicket.

He received solid support from Hales and Eoin Morgan while Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow contributed rapid cameos. There were some costly overs during the innings, most notably 32 off the penultimate from Izatullah Dawlatzai which included two no-balls - the same figure that Wayne Parnell went for at Edgbaston earlier in the month putting it joint second in T20 records. It was also another poor fielding display from Afghanistan - Wright was dropped on 75 - as basic skills let them down as they did against India.It had not been easy start for England as Shapoor Zadran, who troubled India's top order, produced a superb opening over. Craig Kieswetter appeared confused by the two-paced nature of the pitch and played out five dot balls before dragging into his stumps to complete a rare wicket maiden. Hales slashed his first delivery just over slip in a far from assured beginning and after four overs the score was 15 for 1.

Then the game started to change. Having gauged the nature of the pitch, Hales and Wright located the boundary as Shapoor's third over cost 23 although four of those were byes when the wicketkeeper was beaten by the bounce. The final ball of the over was launched into the stands by Wright as England began to take control with the last two overs of the Powerplay bringing 37.

Hales was unfortunate to be dismissed when Wright's straight drive was deflected into the non-striker's stumps by Karim Sadiq. At 84 for 2 after 12 overs the innings hadn't escaped Afghanistan, but Wright dented Samiullah Shenwari's figures with a six over long-on and followed that by fetching another delivery through midwicket.

Mohammad Nabi, the offspinner, bowled his first two overs for 10 but finished with 0 for 46. Morgan flicked him over deep midwicket - his one convincing shot - and Wright went four, six, four off three consecutive deliveries. There was more of that to come with Buttler continuing where he left off against South Africa and Bairstow drilling his first ball into the stands.

Despite having a vast total on the board it was important England did not slack in the field. The quick bowlers made an early impression, zipping the ball through from back of a length with Kieswetter taking a number of deliveries above his head. There was very little for the batsmen to drive although Steven Finn pushed a few deliveries down the leg side.

Broad decided to use his bowlers by the gameplan so Jade Dernbach was given one up front before the captain brought himself on. After a difficult home season of catching and fielding they began well in that department, with Buttler producing a sharp dive and throw from midwicket to run out Sadiq then, next ball, Bairstow held a stunning catch running in from fine leg against a top edged hook from Asghar Stanikzai.

Graeme Swann started with two maidens then was taken for 16 by Naib who often declined singles and showed why by picking off two sweet sixes against Dernbach to mean there would be no record low for Afghanistan and to help himself to the highest score by a No. 8 in T20 internationals. Nobody should read too much into the result, but it was a good statement by the defending champions.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s Powerplay 16-20 overs NB/Wides England 46 18 8 52/1 87/3 3/3 Afghanistan 74 6 4 22/5 16/2 (17.2 overs) 0/5

Brendon McCullum ton razes Bangladesh

New Zealand 191 for 3 (B McCullum 123) beat Bangladesh132 for 8 (Hossain 50, Southee 3-16, Mills 3-33) by 59 runs                                                                                                                                               BrendanMcCullum broke a few Twenty20 international records in New Zealand's 59-run win over Bangladesh in the Group D opener in Pallekele, but his spectacular 123 off just 58 balls more importantly gave his team the breathing space in the tournament's toughest group. McCullum broke the record for the highest score in Twenty20 internationals when he went past Richard Levi's 117 made earlier this year (which, coincidentally, came against New Zealand), and has also become the first batsman to score two hundreds in this format.

The innings was more than enough to ward off any threat from the Bangladesh batsman, who were facing their second-highest chase. Kyle Mills gave them no chance of a quick recovery by removing Tamim Iqbal off the third ball, the left-hand batsman rigid at the crease and caught easily by Martin Guptill. In his next over, Mills took the wicket of Shakib Al Hasan, who continued his poor day by chipping one to Kane Williamson at cover. The same combination removed captain Mushfiqur Rahim, the catch taken at deep midwicket. Tim Southee continued his good form by also picking up three wickets, but it would be Mills' performance that would be most encouraging for New Zealand, after he had crashed into McCullum in their last competitive Twenty20 just ten days ago.

McCullum, too, looked well over the effects of that collision. In an hour and 12 minutes, he produced not only a scintillating display of big-hitting but also showed how to change gears in a 20-over innings without wasting too many deliveries. His knock is the prototype that all modern-day coaches would want batsmen to strive for, though some of McCullum's shots can hardly be imitated without his energy, authority and imagination.

Bangladesh lacked the authority because they were not the ones in command while fielding. Mushfiqur would be disappointed with his fielders letting him down. The number of fumbles and misfields from the beginning showed how stiff they were and it also meant that a costly overthrow (by Mashrafe Mortaza in the seventh over) or a dropped catch of McCullum (by Mashrafe in the 19th) was only a matter of time.But Mushfiqur too was at fault by only sticking to Plan A, which was to rotate the left-arm spinners according to the phases of the Twenty20 innings. He didn't actually rotate his bowlers according to who was at the crease or the acceleration of the batsmen. When McCullum was new at the crease and had trouble getting after Abdur Razzak, Mushfiqur Rahim took off the senior left-arm spinner so that his two overs could be used later. It was becoming quite obvious who would bowl when and, as a result, the batsmen could easily read what the bowler was about to dish out - after Razzak had bowled two good overs at the top, it was quite obvious that Mushfiqur would ask him to bowl the final over.

Sometimes, though, a batting performance like McCullum's doesn't leave the captain with much choice. From the classic backfoot punch through the covers to finishing off the New Zealand innings with two pulled sixes, McCullum was the firestarter, anchor and finisher of the innings.

He freed his arms for the first time when he slapped Shafiul Islam dutifully through the covers. In the next over came his first six, a typical smash over the covers, and he followed it up with his second an over later. More than those two sixes though it was how he deflated Bangladesh's energy by going after their best bowler. With Shakib conceding 20 off his first two overs, including two big sixes, Bangladesh started to look less inspired as their best player was made to look pedestrian.

McCullum unfurled three boundaries in the next two overs off Elias Sunny and Ziaur Rahman as he spread his range to almost all corners of the large field in Pallekele. He reached his fifty off 29 balls but remained wary of what was at stake as he went quiet in Razzak's third over. That should've been Mushfiqur Rahim's cue to give him another over to keep the run-rate down, but the next five overs went for 62 runs, which included McCullum pounding a flat-bat strike for six off a Mashrafe bouncer. He also rode out Franklin's fall, and with captain Ross Taylor feeding him the strike at every opportunity, a century looked right around the corner.

The next burst was against Shafiul, who was hit for fifteen in the 17th over; the next three overs went for 15, 17 and 16 as Bangladesh fell apart. McCullum, in the meantime, reached his century with a routine pull to the midwicket boundary off the 51st delivery he faced, racing from 50 to the century in just 22 balls.

McCullum fell off the last ball of the innings to give Razzak his second wicket but he had damaged Bangladesh badly enough. Apart from having the highest individual innings score and being the highest run-getter in T20Is, McCullum also holds the record now for the most boundaries (150) and sixes (64) in this format.

With Bangladesh struggling at 37 for four in the seventh over, Nasir Hossain took the opportunity to score his second Twenty20 international fifty, but was dismissed just one ball after he had reached the milestone. He gave a good account of his skills, crashing six boundaries and a six, but he is still far away from the sort of batsman who can create panic or change the course of the game.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s Powerplay 16-20 overs NB/Wides New Zealand           40     15    9          34-1            68-1          0/6 Bangladesh           57     13   3           37-3            45-3          0/4

Zimbabwe crash out with huge loss

South Africa 94 for 0 (Levi 50*, Amla 32*) beat Zimbabwe 93 for 8 (Ervine 37, Kallis 4-15) by 10 wickets                    If Australia's victory over Ireland can be called routine for a bigger nation against a smaller one, then South Africa's over Zimbabwe was surgically clinical, almost coldly so. After limiting their neighbours to their second-lowest total in T20 cricket, South Africa chased down the target inside 13 overs.

With some assistance for the seamers, Dale Steyn was able to scare the Zimbabwe batsmen with swing and pace while Morne Morkel intimidated them further, combining bounce and intermittent use of the full ball. But it was Jacques Kallis who broke the back of Zimbabwe's batting with discipline, variation and supreme experience as he took four wickets to send Zimbabwe home red-faced.

They exit the tournament having lost both their matches, which may have been expected but the manner in which they fell would have left them disappointed. Far from putting up the fight they promised, Zimbabwe could not even aim a punch at their opponents' body. Their batting, in particular, was an indication of the importance of regular cricket, something Zimbabwe have sorely lacked.

After their first five overs against South Africa, Zimbabwe looked in danger of not lasting 20, as they teetered on 17 for 3. Kallis had not bowled a ball at that stage. Morkel offered Vusi Sibanda three balls short of a length and then bowled one fuller. Sibanda was on his back foot, anticipating more of the short stuff, and missed the drive to have his bails removed.

Morkel's next wicket was not achieved through menace. Brendan Taylor reached for a ball outside off, did not move his feet and edged behind to de Villiers. With Zimbabwe in trouble, Masakadza tried to make something happen and attempted a lofted drive off Albie Morkel but offered Richard Levi a simple catch at mid-on. Craig Ervine scored more than a third of Zimbabwe's runs and four of the six boundaries and looked like he could rescue the team. He and Stuart Matsikenyeri put on 35 for the fourth wicket and settled Zimbabwe temporarily. Matsikenyeri threw it away though, when he flat-batted Kallis to extra cover.

Kallis removed Elton Chigumbura plumb lbw with his next ball but Graeme Cremer saw off the hat-trick delivery. Ervine had two more stands which could have developed into steadying ones with Cremer and Prosper Utseya but both his partners abandoned him.

Cremer gloved Kallis to de Villiers and Utseya fell to a spectacular catch, with de Villiers diving full stretch to his left. Had Ervine lasted the full innings, Zimbabwe may have eked over three figures but he edged behind as he tried to run the ball down to third man. Zimbabwe's only solace was that they lasted the full 20 overs but bowlers simply had to perform a formality, rather than defend their total.

Richard Levi found some important form ahead of more challenging matches. He scored most of his runs on his favoured on-side but was not undone by balls bowled on off stump and was able to spend time at the crease, something he has lacked of late. Other than his 117 in Hamilton, Levi has not scored a higher number of runs in T20s.

On the other end, Hashim Amla played a characteristically calm innings. He sandwiched it between two risks, both off Kyle Jarvis. In the first over, Amla edged over slip and in what turned out to be the penultimate over, he cut to point but Vusi Sibanda put down a simple chance. Between those two flutterings of feathers, he ushered South Africa home in the match and put Zimbabwe out of the competition.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s PP1 Last 5 overs NB/Wides Zimbabwe          62     6     0          21/3            28/2      0/5 South Africa         24    9     0         56/0            N  /A        0/4

Afghanistan give India scare but run out of gas

India 159 for 5 (Kohli 50, Raina 38, Shapoor 2-33) beat Afghanistan 136 (Nabi 31, Balaji 3-19, Yuvraj 3-24, Ashwin 2-20) by 23 runs                                                                                                                                   Bubbling with enthusiasm and energy, Afghanistan gave India a scare with the ball and a half with the bat, but 20 overs proved to be too long a time for them to sustain that quality and keenness. They could have had India at 79 for 5, but dropped Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina within eight deliveries only for the two to add a total of 53 further runs. They also conceded 16 extras to facilitate India's recovery to 159 runs, but Mohammad Shahzad, Nawroz Mangal and Mohammad Nabi chased with spirit and with gusto, taking them to within 43 with four overs to go, but R Ashwin dismissed Nabi for a 17-ball 31 to kill the chase.

Two sides turned up at the R Premadasa, the underdogs who were clearly enjoying their day on the world stage, and the fancied team who seemed to have the weight of the world on their shoulders. With India's bowling and fielding nearly conceding 160 against an Affiliate team, MS Dhoni surely has the weight of the world firmly on his shoulders. Bigger tests await India, but tonight was about Afghanistan putting up the first show for a minnow in this tournament.

It was the tall left-arm seamer Shapoor Zadran who gave Afghanistan an intentful start. The first ball he bowled, the first of the match, was dug in short even if wide outside off. By the end of that over he was beating Gautam Gambhir for pace. The official broadcasters recorded it at 150.3kmph. In his next over he got one to stop a touch, and Gambhir played on. That earned Shapoor a third over at the top, and he finished his job on Virender Sehwag: beaten twice outside off before edging through.

At 22 for 2 in the fifth over, Kohli respectfully expressed his inability to do anything wrong, reaching a sixth fifty in his last six international innings. When he lofted Gulbodin Naib for a straight six in the eighth over, the run-rate crossed six for the first time since the innings first achieved some shape. The spinners, though, put a lid on that momentum. Yuvraj Singh edged a cut to short third man off Karim Sadiq in the 11th over.

Sadiq and Nabi proceeded to exert pressure on new man Raina who soon lobbed straight back to Nabi, but perhaps in his eagerness to celebrate he let it spill. In the next over, Sadiq nearly got his second but the hit burst through Samiullah Shenwari's hands at long-on. From a possible dominating position, Afghanistan had now let indiscipline creep in both their fielding and bowling. Shapoor came back to go for 14 in his last over that included a typical extra-cover drive from Kolhi and a high full toss to Raina.

In the next over, Raina was dropped again. Dawlat Zadran came back to get Kohli a ball after he had reached his fifty, but he undid his good work with six wides in the 19th over that also incuded three lovely yorkers. Nabi bowled a superb 20th over full of yorkers until providing Dhoni with two low full tosses that he sent for four and six.

That wasn't about to dent Shahzad's spirit, who had promised a Dhoni-style helicopter shot in the lead-up to the match. He duly delivered it, off a full ball from Zaheer Khan no less, and Afghanistan were 24 for 0 in three overs, just the rate they needed. L Balaji stopped that rot for India by getting Shahzad with a bouncer, but Afghanistan were far from giving up.

Mangal hit Balaji and Irfan Pathan for a six and a four, sending Dhoni to his magic man Yuvraj, who delivered immediately with an lbw off a straight delivery. When he took two in two in the 12th over to reduce Afghanistan to 75 for 4, the game seemed over. India's bowling weakness, though, was about to raise its head. Nabi hit Zaheer's length bowling for 16 in the 16th over, and if India didn't quite panic they couldn't have been far off.

In the next over, though, Ashwin did Nabi in with a long pause before delivering, and getting him to mis-hit to long-off. That flattened the chase, but it was an effort that a lopsided tournament so far badly needed.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s Powerplay (0-6) 16-20 overs NB/Wides India        53      14   4                 34-2           44-1       0/14 Afghanistan       58      12   4                 42-1     20-4 (19.3)        1/3