England were left to chase 285 by Afghanistan after weathering an early storm from Rahmanullah Gurbaz in their World Cup clash in Delhi.
Gurbaz gave the underdogs an explosive start after being sent in by Jos Buttler, dominating a rapid opening stand of 114 and piling on 80 in 57 balls.
But they lost three wickets in 14 balls to throw away much of their good work, Adil Rashid taking the first two before Gurbaz was mindlessly run out by his captain Hashmatullah Shahidi.
He had lit up the lively Arun Jaitley Stadium with his fearless strokeplay, but without his impetus England were able to gain a foothold. They bowled their opponents out for 284 off the penultimate ball of the innings, but there were plenty of question marks over the bowling attack.
Chris Woakes and Sam Curran managed just four wicketless overs apiece, conceding 41 and 46 respectively, but Rashid’s three for 42 – his best figures at a World Cup – took up some of the slack.
England started poorly in the field, with Woakes’ struggles in India continuing as he struggled with the new ball for the third game in a row. The usually reliable seamer began with a set of five wides and was soon clubbed for six over midwicket as Gurbaz set his stall out.
A pair of floaty half-volleys were eased away for four with minimal fuss and he was hauled off after sending down three overs for 31. He was replaced by Curran, but the left-armer fared no better against Gurbaz and angrily pushed a camera away as it came in for a tight shot of his retreat to fine-leg.
Afghanistan took 79 chanceless runs from the powerplay and raced to three figures in the 13th over, Gurbaz sweeping Rashid for four to bring up a 33-ball half-century then upper-cutting Mark Wood for six.
It was threatening to be a calamitous outing when Reece Topley, hitherto England’s best bowler, suffered an injury scare diving in the deep, but he later returned pain-free.
Just as the chances of a major upset were growing, Afghanistan lost their nerve and let England back in.
Ibrahim Zadran, who had been a silent partner with 28 from 48 balls, was first to go when he flicked Rashid straight to Joe Root at short midwicket.
Rashid, having opened the door, grabbed a second by ripping one past Rahmat Shah’s outside edge and handing Buttler enough time for a sharp stumping.
England were not out of the woods until Gurbaz was gone and they could barely believe their luck when Shahidi offered him up gift-wrapped from the very next ball.
He set off for an inexplicable single after inside-edging Rashid to substitute fielder David Willey, leaving the danger man run out by a yard.
The skipper was unable to make up for his error, scratching out 14 in 36 balls before losing his off stump to Root, while Liam Livingstone dashed through 10 straight overs taking one for 33.
Ikram Alikhil’s bright 58 gave Afghanistan a much-needed lift in the latter half of the innings, with Woakes and Curran both taking more punishment in brief second spells as runs and wickets came in quickfire fashion.
Inglis hails 'hard to stop' Stoinis after ruthless knock
Josh Inglis lauded "hard to stop" Marcus Stoinis as Australia signed off their T20I series against Pakistan in style, claiming a whitewash.
The hosts raced to a seven-wicket victory with almost nine overs remaining in Monday's third match.
After Australia's bowlers had limited Pakistan to just 117 runs, Stoinis ensured they signed off their final white-ball assignment in style, with his unbeaten 61 doing the damage.
Only twice has he bettered that knock in T20Is – versus New Zealand in 2021 (78) and against Oman at the World Cup earlier this year (67*).
"It's been a great week. We've had a lot of fun as a group," Inglis said. "It's been really nice.
"When Stoinis is going like that, he is really hard to stop. One of those sixes was probably the biggest I've ever seen!"
Stoinis, who was named player of the match, added: "Nice to score some runs on a beautiful wicket but credit to the bowlers who kept the total down.
"Yeah, I actually told [Haris] Rauf that this is the first time any of us got the better of him! No, he's a brilliant bowler, bowled well this series."
During their white-ball tour, Pakistan won the ODI series, their first time doing so in Australia in 22 years, but got whitewashed in the T20Is.
Despite the heavy loss, captain Agha Salman chose to focus on the positive effect the experience will have on their young players.
"I think in the middle overs, we didn't capitalise on the start," he said. "But lots of positives.
"The way Usman [Khan] batted, the way Jahandad [Khan] bowled. These youngsters will come good.
"It's obviously a big achievement winning the ODI series, but we could have done much better in the T20Is."
Salt century gives England winning start to West Indies T20 series
Phil Salt hit a superb century as England drew first blood in their T20 series against West Indies, with a commanding eight-wicket victory at the Kensington Oval.
Salt's unbeaten 103 off 54 balls was the highlight for the tourists, who successfully chased down their target of 183 with 19 balls to spare.
The West Indies endured a difficult start and were reduced to 18-3 and later 117-8, with Saqib Mahmood (4-34) and Adil Rashid (3-32) doing the damage.
However, the hosts managed 65 runs in the last 5.2 overs to finish at 182-8, with Gukadesh Motie knocking 33 off 14 balls along the way.
Salt kick-started England's chase with 50 off just 25 deliveries taking them to 73-1 after six overs, with Will Jacks (17) dismissed with the final ball of the powerplay.
Jos Buttler's first match after four months out lasted just three minutes, as the skipper was caught by Motie for a golden duck.
However, it proved a false dawn for West Indies, with Salt and Jacob Bethall (58 from 36 balls) safely steering England to victory.
Data Debrief: Salt completes hat-trick of hundreds as Bethell makes historic half-century
England put their disappointing ODI series behind them, making history with the highest T20 chase at the Kensington Oval.
Salt was the hero with his third T20I century, all of which have come against West Indies in the past 12 months.
Bethell also made history on Saturday. Aged 21 years and 17 days, he become the youngest England player to score a 50 in a T20I.
Asalanka leads Sri Lanka to ODI series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka wrapped up the ODI series against the West Indies with a five-wicket victory in Pallekele.
The hosts successfully chased down their opponents' total of 189, giving them an unassailable 2-0 in the three-match series.
Sri Lanka controlled the early powerplay - Asitha Fernando (3-35) and Maheesh Theekshana (3-25) took two wickets apiece to leave the tourists at 31-4 in the ninth over.
Wanindu Hasaranga (4-40) then claimed three of his four wickets as Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh and Alzarri Joseph were all dismissed in the space of 14 balls.
However, Sherfane Rutherford (80 off 82 balls) and Gudakesh Motie (50 not out) steadied the ship to take the Windies from 58-8 to 189.
Although Joseph claimed Avishka Fernando (9) in the fourth over, Nishan Madushka and Sadeera Samarawickrama both chipped in with contributions of 38 to get the hosts to 112-4.
Skipper Charith Asalanka (62 not out) led the charge thereon, while Kamindu Mendis (11) comfortably got them over the line with 34 balls remaining.
Data Debrief: Rutherford-Motie historic stand proves academic for tourists
West Indies were looking to level the series, but their hopes were not aided by Sri Lanka's impressive bowling.
Rutherford and Motie did their best. Their partnership brought 119 runs, which is their nation's highest ninth-wicket stand in ODI history, breaking the previous record of 85 between Yannic Cariah and Alzarri Joseph.
However, it ultimately proved in vain as the hosts secured the series with a game to spare.
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