ICC World T20: Moeen Ali does rescue act as England see off Afghan challenge
New Delhi: At an England score of 57/6 in the tenth over, it looked like Afghanistan were on the way to a deeply desired upset over one of world cricket’s big eight. Or was it a re-emergence of the gremlins in the Kotla track, which have long dogged cricket at this historic venue?
In the event, it was neither as man of the match Moeen Ali and the tail put on 85 runs in the remaining 64 deliveries to all but carry the game beyond the reach of the plucky Afghans and lay to rest memories of the nightmare loss to the Netherlands in the 2014 edition of the tournament..
Having removed the top order for next to nothing and then allowing England to get away to a testing total must have broken Afghan hearts, and the hunt for that elusive win never really acquired authentic shape. In the event, chasing England’s 142/7, constructed around Moeen’s unbeaten 41, and contributions of 15 and 20 from fast bowlers Chris Jordan and David Willey, Asghar Stanikzai’s men were pegged down to 127/9, losers by 15 runs.
Afghanistan’s reply followed much the same patterns as England’s innings earlier with the top order vanishing into the dugout in short order. Mohammad Shahzad’s bat never boomed, Stanikzai and Mohammad Nabi, their two most experienced batsmen fell for one and 12 respectively. And there was no Moeen Ali in the ranks to author the turnaround.
Wickets were shared almost evenly through the England bowling list, with only Liam Plunkett missing out, while for Afghanistan, Shafiqllah top-scored with an unbeaten 31 from 15 balls with three fours and a six.
