Post Match Conference:
Skipper Virat Kohli on His Bowlers
“Its simple we wanted to use him (Bumrah) smartly when the conditions allow him to. He gets a longer spell and because he can pick wickets in the spell he can get you quick wickets. He is the bowler who can do the damage at any stage of the innings and the opposition knows that as well. The communication was to finish him off at 49th over so that Shami has enough runs to defend in the last over and yeah the plan worked really well today. Keeping Chahal back also worked. All in all, the bowling performance was outstanding.”
Jasprit Bumrah Adjudged Man of the Match
It was Bumrah’s double strike in the 29th over that won India the match.
Bumrah said: “That gives you a lot of confidence, if the captain has so much of trust in you, that gives you a lot of confidence to trust yourself and clear head in terms of how I want to execute. We saw that wicket was getting slower and slower with the older ball, you need to be more accurate and bowl stump to stump. This is a big ground and there was reverse swing, but you need to rely on your yorkers as well and play according to the situation. It was a tight game and I backed my skills. Sometimes when you run behind wickets, you don't get wickets. We wanted to create pressure and take the run rate high. As soon as the required rate gets high, you get wickets. Gives us healthy competition in the side and we (bowlers) all discuss as what to do and how things are going. It's a good sign when everyone is chipping in with the wickets.”
Last Over Hat-Trick For Shami
Mohammad Shami came out all guns blazing to take three wickets in the final over of the match to bundle Afghanistan out for 213 and survive a mighty scare. India won the match by 11 runs.
Needing 16 runs off the last over, Nabi kept Afghanistan in the hunt. But Shami took three wickets of the second, third and fourth ball of the over. His victims included Nabi, Aftab Alam and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Nabi was in long-on by Hardik Pandya while both Aftab and Mujeeb had their stumps rattled by Shami
This is the first hat-trick of the World Cup and second time an Indian has taken a hat-trick in a World Cup match.
Jasprit Bumrah bowled a tight 49th over which conceded only five runs and swung the game in India's direction.
Afghanistan: 213 all-out in 50 overs
Afghanistan vs India | 48th Over - 3 Runs
Finally, Shami bowls an excellent over. He gives away only three runs. Nabi was declared out LBW off the first ball but he reviewed it and got it overturned.
Afghanistan: 204/7 in 48 overs