England survived a scare at the hands of qualifiers Afghanistan to boost their ICC World Twenty20 semi-final hopes with a 15-run victory in Delhi.
England, having won the toss, slipped to a desperate 57 for six after losing five wickets for just 11 runs on a slow Feroz Shah Kotla pitch that was hosting its first Twenty20 international.
David Willey strode to the crease to join Moeen Ali at 85 for seven and the eighth-wicket pair revived the innings by smashing 57 in just 33 balls, taking 44 runs from the final three overs, to propel England to a competitive 142 for seven.
That partnership transformed England’s fortunes and a dominant bowling performance followed, led by Willey, to ensure they claimed a second successive Group 1 win ahead of their final game against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
Left-arm seamer Willey took wickets in his first two overs, including dangerman Mohammad Shahzad, while Adil Rashid struck twice and Liam Plunkett conceded only 12 runs from his allocation on his return to the XI.
The associate nation took the game down to the death courtesy of a late unbeaten 35 from Shafiqullah, although 24 off the final over proved beyond him and the Afghans were restricted to 127 for nine.
More to follow
Source: ECB