COLOMBO — Former champion India endured a scare from fearless Afghanistan before recording a 23-run win in the World Twenty20 in Colombo Wednesday. India, sent in to bat, took advantage of its rival's butter-fingered display to recover from a bad start and post 159-5, with Virat Kohli top-scoring with 50 off 38 balls. The Afghans raced to a comfortable 75-2 in the 12th over before a late collapse saw the non-Test side being bowled out for 136 with three balls to spare. Mohammad Nabi was the star batsman with an aggressive 31 off 17 balls with two boundaries and as many sixes, while Karim Sadiq made 26 and skipper Nawroz Mangal chipped in with 22. Seamer Lakshmipathy Balaji and left-arm spinner Yuvraj Singh claimed three wickets each and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took two, but India was fortunate to emerge unscathed from the Group A match. The Afghans continued to attack till the end, but the loss of regular wickets cost them an unlikely win. Tall left-arm seamer Shapoor Zardan gave the Afghans a superb start when he removed openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag by the fifth over with only 22 runs on the board. But Afghanistan, playing its second World Twenty20, was let down by a shoddy display in the field, dropping four catches, two of them return catches by Mohammad Nabi. Yuvraj, who opened his account with a six, put on 46 for the third wicket with Kohli before he was caught at third-man off spinner Karim Sadiq. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit a four and six off the final two deliveries to carry India past the 150-run mark. India plays defending champions England next in Colombo Sunday. Afghanistan awaits England at the same venue Friday. In the first match, Shane Watson pounded Ireland with both bat and ball as Australia began its World Twenty20 campaign with an emphatic seven-wicket victory also Wednesday. Watson grabbed three wickets as Ireland was restricted to 123-7 and then smashed 51 off 30 balls to help Australia surpass the modest total in the 16th over of the Group B match. The New South Wales all-rounder put on 60 for the first wicket with David Warner (26) in seven overs, and 31 off 18 balls for the second with Michael Hussey, before he was run out in the 11th over. Watson, who hit five boundaries and three sixes, was named the man of the match. Barely 3,000 spectators were present at the 35,000-capacity Premadasa Stadium to watch Australia teach the non-Test nation a cricketing lesson in the first ever T20 clash between the two sides. Australia, which lost to England in the final of the 2010 World T20 in the Caribbean, had briefly slipped below Ireland in the T20 rankings earlier this month. The slump started with the first ball of the innings, which skipper William Porterfield hooked down fine-leg's throat to the great delight of bowler Watson. In-form batsman Paul Stirling was caught at third man off Mitchell Starc and Ed Joyce holed out to mid-off against Glenn Maxwell after making 16. Left-arm spinner Brag Hogg, the oldest player in the tournament at 41, struck with his second delivery when he trapped Gary Wilson leg-before for five. Kevin O'Brien top-scored with 35, adding 52 for the fifth wicket with elder brother Niall (20) after Ireland had slipped to 33-4 by the eighth over. The O'Brien brothers were dismissed in the space of four balls from Watson. Australia plays the West Indies in their final group game in Colombo Saturday. Ireland takes on the West Indies Monday. Two teams from the group will advance to the Super Eights round. Brief scores: India 159-5 (20 overs, V. Kohli 50, S. Raina 38) vs. Afghanistan 136 all out (19.3 overs, M Nabi 31, L Balaji 3-19, Y Singh 3-24). Ireland 123-7 in 20 overs (K. O'Brien 35, N. O'Brien 20, E. Joyce 16, S. Watson 3-26, M. Starc 2-20); Australia 125-3 in 15.1 overs (S. Watson 51, D. Warner 26). —Agencies
