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ICC Men's T20 World Cup, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi India 210-2 (20 overs): Rohit 74 (47), Rahul 69 (48), Pandya 35* (13) Afghanistan 144-7 (20 overs): Janat 42* (22), Nabi 35 (32); Shami 3-32 India won by 66 runs Scorecard
India beat Afghanistan by a stunning 66 runs to keep their slim chances of reaching the Men's T20 World Cup semi finals alive.
India was facing elimination if they lose a third consecutive game. Rohit Sharma and KL Rohul made a remarkable statement in Abu Dhabi, sharing a magnificent opening stand of 140.
Rohit scored 74 runs from 47 balls, Rahul 69 from 48 and Rishabh Pan and Hardik Paandya combined to bring India to 210-2. This was the highest tournament score.
Afghanistan was never capable of chasing down 211. Their ambition was to limit the severity of defeat to preserve their superior net run rate, which determines who advances if multiple teams finish on equal points.
Afghanistan reached 144-7 after falling to 69-5 in 12th over thanks to Karim Janat, captain Mohammad Nabi and 35, respectively.
India is now in a thrilling three-team race against New Zealand and Afghanistan for the second semi-final spot, behind Group 2 leaders Pakistan.
New Zealand will be through regardless of the other results if they defeat Namibia and Afghanistan.
If the Black Caps lose any game, India (who face Scotland or Namibia) will be qualified if they win both of their games and surpass New Zealand and Afghanistan's run rates.
India batters finally come out
This was India's expectation after a disappointing effort against New Zealand and Pakistan.
Finally, the best opening pair in T20 cricket attacked right from the beginning and provided a platform for the players following.
Rohit, one of the most outstanding white-ball batters ever, hit eight fours and three sixes.
Rahul has been among the top three run-scorers at the Indian Premier League tournaments in the past four years. He heaved six fours and two sixes.
India could have Hardik, the usual finisher, and Pant promoted to captain Virat Kohli after they both fell. This allowed them to continue the carnage.
Pant scored 27 runs off 13 balls, Hardik a brutal unbeaten 35 off 13, and Hardik a thrilling 63 off 13. It was a thrilling finish to the innings.
Shrewd Afghanistan change approach
Although India may be criticized for being too critical, India should have won by at least 20 to 25 runs more. This could prove costly if the second semi-final spot is decided by net run rate.
Seamers Shardul Thakur and Hardik Thakur conceded more runs than 10 runs each as they were targeted late in the game. Ravindra Jadeja, a slow left-armer, only bowled three overs despite scoring 1-19.
It somewhat undid the fine work by fast bowlers Mohammed Shami (3-22) and Jasprit Bumrah (1-25) respectively. Ravichandran Ashwin was the outstanding off-spinner, scoring a remarkable 2-14.
Afghanistan's intelligence and skill helped to limit the damage, even though their net run rate, which was boosted by crushing wins over Scotland, Namibia and Namibia, was more that halved.
Janat and Nabi calmly built a crucial sixth-wicket stand at 57 to keep wickets in their hands. Janat hit out later with his second six from the last ball.
"We are a positive side" - What they said
Virat Kohli, India captain: "We look in a very positive way at the future and we will play that way for sure."
"We knew we had a chance. We need to be able to see that possibility and not dwell on the negative. We have a positive side.
T20 cricket is an instinctive game. Unless something unexpected happens, the top three are pretty much set. Today was an exception. The guys batted superbly to reach over 14 and then our power-hitters performed brilliantly. It doesn't always happen, but it is a sign of how good we are at bat.
Mohammad Nabi, Afghanistan captain: "We wanted the second bat because of the dew and it looked really good for batting.
"In the end there was not that much dew. But India batted really well, and put our bowlers under stress. We didn't spin the strike well. We threw our wickets away and were put under pressure.
