Roy scores stunning fifty
A 28-ball half-century by Jason Roy helped England reach the hundred-run mark in ten overs, as they seem to be making short work of a target that is beneath them. Even Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, two of Afghanistan’s better bowlers, aren’t spared by the swashbuckling opener.
Bairstow stumped after blazing cameo
Jonny Bairstow was stumped off the bowling of Mohammad Nabi, after an aggressive opening stand of 77 in just 7.2 overs. The stumping was beyond effortless, spilling into the unintentionally, as the ball entered Rahmat Shah’s gloves and rebounded onto the stumps as his wicketkeeping counterpart was caught short, with his foot in the air.
Roy, Bairstow blaze away in chase of 161
The England openers pummelled the new ball(s) as Dawlat Zadran and Hamid Hassan faced some stick, forcing the captain to turn to Rashid Khan as early as the fourth over. Will Roy’s struggles against spin continue? Or has he got sufficient confidence to hit even the best in the business into the stratosphere.
Nabi departs for 44; Afghanistan skittled out for 160
Mohammad Nabi led Afghanistan’s recovery with a counterattacking 44 and got them to a more respectable total from 92-8. He loses his wicket trying to launch one over the fence only for Jonny Bairstow to take a stunning catch at the boundary. Nabi will have to perform with the ball too, if Afghanistan are to have any hope of defending this total.
Nabi leads counterattack
The all-rounder led a counter-attack with the highest score of the innings, taking on the spinners and clubbing some mighty sixes. However, he is struggling to find support at the other end as Aftab Alam departs to hand Joe Root his third wicket. The ninth-wicket partnership was the best of the innings, yielding 35 runs.
Four down in eight balls
An eventful Moeen Ali over brings about a run-out (that of Shahidi) for a sluggish 19 off 52, courtesy Plunkett. One ball later, Naib departed, attempting a six over long-on but only managing to hand a simple catch to Stokes in the deep. Najibullah was run-out in the next over, and Rashid edged Root to slip first ball. All this, in the space of 8 balls. From 87-4 to 92-8, Afghanistan are in deep trouble.
Root strikes second ball
Asghar Afghan gifts his wicket away to part-timer Joe Root. The ex-skipper succumbed to the pressure and miscued a lofted shot to hand a simple catch to Jason Roy at long-on. Afghanistan are four wickets down, and in deep trouble.
Stokes scalps Noor Ali
Just as Shahidi and Noor Ali Zadran were starting to solidify things, Stokes has come in and knocked over the latter with an in-seamer that has gone through the defence of Noor Ali Zadran. Asghar Afghan – known for his composure more than his batting – walks out to the center. Can he harness Afghanistan’s fall?
Lightning strikes twice
Jofra Archer, England’s last-minute pick for the World Cup squad, picked up the dangerous Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmat Shah early to dent Afghanistan’s batting. They need to rebuild here, and Shahidi has joined Noor Ali Zadran, trying to do exactly that.
What the captains said:
Gulbadin Naib: Definitely I wanted to bat first as well. This looks good. Guys are very excited. This looks a good wicket. We want to play our best cricket. Hopefully we will put a good total on board. Shahzad and Mujeeb have been rested.
Eoin Morgan: Had we lost the toss, we would have been chasing. We are trying to replicate that on a used pitch. They are a fantastic emerging side. Great to see for cricket. They bring a lot of energy to the game. It is a used wicket. It is as close as it can get to a subcontinental wicket. Plunkett and Dawson won’t play today. We want to have a good batting and bowling powerplay.
Toss
England have won the toss and have elected to field. “Had we lost the toss, we would have been chasing,” say Captain Morgan.
Build up
Afghanistan have already sprung a surprise by defeating Pakistan in the warm up clash. Even though one might argue it doesn’t carry a lot of significance, for a side like Afghanistan, the confidence levels would have shot up. And now, today, they come up against the hosts, the favourites, the side that everyone expects to dazzle in the World Cup. England themselves will look to put the loss against Australia behind and get back on track and this is a good test for them.
The surface is expected to be on the slower side and that will present a real challenge against Afghanistan’s spin attack. And today, we also get to see Afghanistan wearing their away kit which has more of red than blue to distinguish from the opposition camp. This is going to be a regular occurrence in the tournament. Welcome to the live blog for this final warm-up match for both these sides.