Adil Rashid (3-42), Liam Livingstone (1-33) and Joe Root (1-19) were influential in halting a daring batting performance from Afghanistan who produced their second highest World Cup score on Sunday (October 15) against England in Delhi. At one stage, the score seemed set to be in excess of 325 on another good batting surface but England’s spinners got into the act to do damage control through the innings.

Much like the previous games at the venue, the Arun Jaitley Stadium dished out another lovely batting pitch which along with the short boundary on one side meant that run-scoring and boundary hitting was as feasible as it gets. Rahmanullah Gurbaz took full toll of the conditions as he got off to a flier in the first Powerplay as Afghanistan racked up 79 in the first ten overs. Ibrahim Zadran wasn’t as aggressive or fluent but the pair’s century stand put pressure on England’s bowlers early on in the game. Until Jos Buttler turned to spin.

According to the data shown by the host broadcaster, today’s surface had more turn than there was in the previous two games at the venue. It didn’t hinder the batters too much but there was just enough in there for the tweakers to stay in the game. After an unusually expensive start to his spell, Rashid soon found his groove and broke the century opening stand by getting Zadran caught at short mid-wicket. It was a much-needed breakthrough for England who then got two more big wickets in the next 13 deliveries.