Indian spinners rattle Afghanistan

NEW DELHI: Indian spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin on a roll as Afghanistan lost their half of the side cheaply in an inconsequential Asia Cup match at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

Scorecard

Ashwin opened his spell with a wicket as he dismissed Najibullah Zadran to leave Afghanistan stuttering at 64/5 in 17.1 overs

Jadeja struck twice in his first over to remove Rahmat Shah and Noor Ali Zadran to turn the momentum in India's way.

Jadeja added Afghanistan woes by striking again in his third over to dismiss Asghar Stanikzai and put India in total control.

Afghanistan got off to a brisk start as their openers posted 30 on the board in five overs before Indian pacer Mohammed Shami struck to remove Nawroz Mangal.

Earlier, Indian skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to field in their first ever ODI against Afghanistan.

India have fielded an unchanged squad that played against Pakistan, while Afghanistan have made one change to their playing XI, bringing in Rahmat Shah in place of Hamza Kotak.

India, who are already out of the tournament, can only hope to sign off their disastrous campaign with a win against spirited debutants and finish with 9, even if they earn a bonus point.

India's hopes of a miraculous entry into the final of the Asia Cup got buried under another Shahid Afridi blinder on Tuesday night.

With Pakistan chasing down 327 against Bangladesh to snatch another thrilling last-over win, they sealed a titleround clash with already qualified Sri Lanka.

Pakistan have 13 points and so do Sri Lanka, with a match in hand.

It will be a test of the Indian batting against Afghanistan who have been a revelation in this tournament putting up an impressive show especially with their pace bowling.

Bubbling with enthusiasm, Afghanistan announced their arrival at the big stage when they downed Bangladesh by 32 runs for their maiden victory against a Test-playing nation after four matches.

Teams:

India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami.

Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad, Noor Ali Zadran, Asghar Stanikzai, Nawroz Mangal, Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shenwari, Najibullah Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Mirwais Ashraf, Shapoor Zadran, Dawlat Zadran

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Shweta Pandey

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