Coming back into playing eleven Team India pacer Mohammed Shami took a hat-trick in the final over to help India in shrug off scare to register a thrilling 11-run win over Afghanistan.
With that Mohammad Shami became only the second Indian to take a World Cup hat-trick, only after Chetan Sharma.
With the help of his effort, Afghanistan got all out for 213, thus losing the match by 11 runs. This was Afghanistan’s sixth straight defeat in the tournament, and India’s fourth win in five games.
Earlier coming into the attack in the final over, the match was poised for a thrilling finale with Afghanistan needing 16 to win in 6 balls and three wickets in hand. Mohammad Nabi, who was batting on 48* at the moment, smashed a boundary on the first ball towards long-on, to reach his half century.
After a dot ball, Shami bowled a yorker to Nabi, which he hit straight down long-on for a comfortable catch in Hardik Pandya’s hands. In the next two deliveries, the seamer cleaned up Aftab Alam and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, with two yorker deliveries, completing his hat-trick.
Shami became only the 10th bowler in history to take a World Cup history. He also became the first bowler this year to attain the milestone.
Hat tricks in World Cups:
Chetan Sharma v NZ 1987
Saqlain Mushtaq v Zim 1999
C Vaas v Ban 2003
Brett Lee v Ken 2003
Malinga v SA 2007
Roach v Net 2011
Malinga v Ken 2011
Finn v Aus 2015
Duminy v SL 2015
SHAMI v Afg 2019