Kohli speaks on satisfaction with the win. “It’s right up there to be honest. You win the toss and bat and think you should make 300, then you see the nature of the pitch and think 260, 270. But you play a team like Afghanistan that has a lot of talent, and they make life difficult for you.

“I decided quickly that cross-batted shots weren’t on on this pitch. So I played with a straight bat and that worked. We lost a lot of wickets to the horizontal bat. But when you’re facing three wrist spinners on a pitch like this it’s tough, and I thought Nabi also bowled outstandingly.

“In the end the communication was to finish Bumrah off on 49, so Shami has enough runs to defend in the last over. All in all the bowling performance was outstanding. Shami was really good today, especially his first spell, he made the ball do more than anyone today. We selected a squad because we knew these guys were hungry, they wanted an opportunity.

“When things don’t go your way you have to fight, and show character, and I think that’s what we showed from this team.”

Gulbadin: “We played really well in the first innings, everybody knew we had a strong batting lineup, but credit goes to Bumrah, the way he bowled in the last few overs was superb.

“Spinners bowled really well according to the plans. We had another option, Rahmat Shah. India is a good side, credit goes to them. The total is not that much, but sometimes in the middle we need batsmen with a good score, like 80 or 100, not 30 or 40. Middle order batsmen should go longer and take responsibility.

“I’m telling everyone, the last four games we lose badly, but the last two games we played really well, so that’s a positive note for the team.”

Bumrah speaks to Pommie Mbangwa about their strategy. “Sometimes when you run behind wickets, you don’t get wickets. So we wanted to make sure we made the run rate high, create that pressure, and that will bring wickets.” It did.

Two points for India as expected, but nothing else about this match went as expected. Afghanistan fall short, but in reality they made life hard for themselves by not taking a more focused approach earlier in their batting innings. It should never have come down to the last over.

But Afghanistan were sensational with the ball. They squeezed India all day with spin, gave very little away, and made sure none of the damaging Indian batsmen bar Kohli could go large or go quickly. They restricted India to 224 and gave themselves a chance. Six bowlers used, one to two wickets apiece, Mujeeb giving away 26 in ten overs, Nabi 33 in nine.

Even 224 was likely to be tough with such a mismatch between quality of bowling attack and quality of batting lineup. But the partnerships kept coming: Gulbadin with Rahmat, to Hashmatullah, to Nabi with Najibullah, to Rashid. They got close, but they still haven’t worked out how to pace a chase, and that starts with more confidence from the top.

Shami took 4-40 with his hat-trick at the end, Bumrah 2-39 from 10, Chahal 2-36 and Kuldeep 0-39, with Pandya relatively expensive for 51 but took two key wickets.

Make that another famous World Cup 213! If anyone could hit two sixes in two balls it might as well have been Mujeeb, who can swing as hard as anyone. He does, but Shami is at the base of the stumps once again, and gets his reward. Three in three to win the match.

On a hiding to nothing, the No 10 batsman walks out needing 12 off 3 balls, heaves and misses. Middle stump.

That’s the match! Nabi wanted a six, he got the full ball to hit, but Shami just cramped him for room enough, in at his pads even though Nabi had backed away. Hit it well but not quite enough at this big ground, and long-on takes it inside the rope moving across.

49.2 overs: Clouted out to deep midwicket, but Nabi says no to the single. Wants to finish this himself. 12 from 4.

49.1 overs: Clouted down the ground for four! Low full toss, driven straight, and it’s 12 off 5 needed.

49th over: Afghanistan 209-7 (Nabi 48, Ikram 7) Yorker! Perfect from Bumrah, wide, and Nabi can’t get it past backward point. Advances this time, slaps the low full toss wide of long-off, gets back for two.

19 needed from 10 balls.

We’re getting a change in bats. Four bats being brought down the stairs. Bumrah doesn’t mind the wait. Nails another yorker, on middle, and Nabi drives for one.

18 from 9. Ikram slaps a low full toss straight to short midwicket on the bounce. Dot ball. Nabi gives him advice. Another perfect one, and Ikram backs away and gets it to point, for one.

17 from 7. Yorker! Perfection! 16 from the last over needed.

48th over: Afghanistan 204-7 (Nabi 44, Ikram 6) Well. The overturned review comes from the first ball, and a subsequent single is disallowed because the ball is dead once there’s a review. Nabi gets a single next ball, but Ikram is tied down for a couple, then fends a short ball into the ground, then gets a high bouncer that isn’t called as a wide. Finally he lines up the last ball, pulling it away for two.

Nabi gets strike for the next over. He needs 21 from 12.

“Ok seriously,” writes Sandile Xaso, “are the commentators of this World Cup not allowed to criticize India’s performance or their players? I know the ICC is no completely in thrall to the commercial king that is the BCCI but it’s getting a bit embarrassing. The game has been gripping and enjoyable though.”

It sure has. I doubt there are directives as such, but those who work a lot on India matches, there’s probably some element of knowing on which side your bread is buttered. It would be hard for there not to be any influence.

Nabi is given lbw. I think that’s hit him outside the line? He was striding forward at Shami and missed a swing across the line. No edge on it, says the technology.

And it’s outside the line! Overturned. Nabi survives.

47th over: Afghanistan 201-7 (Nabi 43, Ikram 4) Should have been a run out! Ikram squeezed out a yorker and ran, panicked. Pandya at backward square had all the time in the world, with Nabi well short of his ground, but missed. And Nabi doesn’t miss the next one! Short, pulled, six! Up into the stands. The 200 comes up. They need 25 to win. Yorker from Bumrah, and Nabi can’t make contact. Then again, perfect, and Nabi can only dig. Last ball, needs a single. Gets it! Drives the wider one to deep point.

Breathe in. Breathe out. 24 from 18.

46th over: Afghanistan 193-7 (Nabi 36, Ikram 3) Rashid started the over with a fierce reverse sweep for four, then fell. Ikram Ali Khil is the Afghan keeper, and he gets going immediately by sweeping a brace and then a single.

They need 32 from 24, and they need Nabi on strike.

Chahal gets through! That’s huge. Rashid Khan can hit big, and he’d just started to do so. But Dhoni is the best in the business at stumpings, and Chahal lured Rashid into a drive, then dipped the ball and turned it past him. Rashid didn’t advance but his back foot was dragged out, and that’s all it takes.

45th over: Afghanistan 185-6 (Nabi 35, Rashid 10) What a shot! The TV commentators are already calling this an Indian win, which seems a bit premature when Nabi walks at Shami and drives him over extra cover for four to start the over. He jams a single, then Rashid plays a forehand down the ground for one. Shami is angry, so he bowls full pace now, short, and it’s a fierce bouncer that Nabi gets nowhere near as he tries to pull while walking across. Then tangled up trying to flick past fine leg, walking across again, and instead gets a leg bye off the thigh pad. He backs away instead from the last ball and smacks the cut shot. Jadhav in the deep doesn’t field it cleanly, but dives after the ricochet and pulls it back inches from the rope, but concedes a second run.

Nine from the over. 40 from 30.

“This game and yesterday’s feel like a return to proper old school ODI cricket,” writes Brian Withington. “Chasing 230 and struggling to keep up with the tricky run rate, never mind retaining wickets. Where’s Clive Radley when you need him?”

Who is the Afghan Geoff Marsh? The people want to know.

44th over: Afghanistan 176-6 (Nabi 30, Rashid 7) Here’s Bumrah, the man who could finish this off. Two length balls, where Rashid finds the field, then a slow yorker on leg stump squeezed for a single. Nabi hacks another to mid-on. Rashid backs away and slaps the short ball through cover, and there is one of those twos, with a quick turn and return. Then a walking pull shot, straight to Kohli at midwicket, and Nabi almost gets run out turning back to the non-striker’s end.

49 in 36 is the equation.

43rd over: Afghanistan 172-6 (Nabi 29, Rashid 4) Chahal gets away with an over there really. Twice Rashid Khan was cutting, but only got a couple of runs. Ditto his sweep shot. Boundaries were on offer once or twice there. Afghanistan are starting to need some, or at least to make ones into twos.

53 from 42.

42nd over: Afghanistan 169-6 (Nabi 29, Rashid 1) So it’s Rashid Khan ahead of the keeper. He made 27 from 11 against Australia – that would be very handy now. He starts with a single, then Nabi dabs a couple to fine third man. Four wickets in hand. 56 needed from the last eight overs.

There it goes! You just felt it was inevitable a wicket would fall. Not to anything amazing, but Pandya bowls a slower ball, Najibullah is trying to knock it away for one, but was through the shot early. Leading edge to midwicket, straight to Chahal this time. Now it’s tough for Afghanistan.

41st over: Afghanistan 165-5 (Nabi 26, Najibullah 21) That helps! Shami bowls on the pads and Najibullah plays a lovely whip, away through midwicket. It slows up towards the rope but rolls into it eventually. It also helps Afghanistan when Shami follows with a wide, and then another. One batsman pulls a single, the other steers one, both right and left-hander succeeding when Shami stays back of a length. Najibullah almost pops up a catch to midwicket from the fifth ball, with Shami right-arm over the wicket and in at his ribs, drawing a leading edge from a fend. But Chahal was just too deep to charge in enough.

The equation tightens to 60 in 54. Can Afghanistan finish off a stunner? Will India’s bowling do the job? Bumrah has three overs left, which will be key.

40th over: Afghanistan 157-5 (Nabi 25, Najibullah 16) Pace at both ends with Pandya and Shami. The former has Nabi bolt for a single from a straight drive, then Najibullah calls for a fast second after chipping through the off-side. Good to see some urgency between the wickets, unlike earlier. Najibullah hits the same region for two more, better timed and along the ground this time, then cuts one. So the over yields six runs. They need 68 in 60.

39th over: Afghanistan 151-5 (Nabi 24, Najibullah 11) Shami is bowling superbly today. Tight on off stump, tough length, so even when Najibullah hits is crisply it’s straight to point. But mid-off is up inside the circle, so when Shami gets just a touch fuller, Najibullah rolls the dice. Stands up and drives off the back foot, over the top! Not smashed, but good enough to get him four. Placement spot on. And when Shami reverts to the short ball, it goes just fractionally off line and is called wide for a leg-side infringement. Najibullah flicks a single, Nabi drives one. Eight from the over. The equation is 74 in 66.

38th over: Afghanistan 143-5 (Nabi 22, Najibullah 6) Kuldeep carries on. Nabi takes a couple of singles. Najibullah wants to get moving, tries the reverse sweep again, misses out completely. Survives an appeal as well. They’re just not able to get enough away at the moment, Afghanistan. 83 needed off 72 now.

37th over: Afghanistan 140-5 (Nabi 20, Najibullah 5) Shami comes back and he is on the money immediately. Pace, in at off stump, and Nabi defends and tries to find where the ball has gone and realises it’s right at his feet, nearly squirming past his pad. Then Shami is bowling bouncers, sharp ones, forcing dot balls, forcing fends. One of them yields two runs. Three from the over.

36th over: Afghanistan 137-5 (Nabi 19, Najibullah 3) Kuldeep will bowl now, spin rather than pace. Najibullah Zadran is the new man in. Can bat. Nabi plays a little sweep for a couple, with the spin, then nudges one. Najibullah, left-hander facing left-armer, reverse-sweeps his first ball, striking it nicely for two. A couple more singles follow. They need 88 from 84.

35th over: Afghanistan 130-5 (Nabi 15) Last ball of the over, Chahal gets his man! Nabi had already boshed four through midwicket on the sweep to start the over. Asghar tried to end it by walloping the same way, but he only opens up the gate for Chahal to dart through and take the stumps.

34th over: Afghanistan 125-4 (Asghar 8, Nabi 10) Four singles from Hardik Pandya, just knocked around or pushed straight, as the holding pattern is maintained.

33rd over: Afghanistan 121-4 (Asghar 6, Nabi 8) Surely time for Shami rather than Pandya with the high chance of ropey shots against pace? Chahal bowls spin, and they only get two singles from five, the pressure building. But Chahal throws the last ball out wide and Nabi plays a calm shot rather than a huge swipe, slicing the cut shot along the ground behind point. Four runs.

104 needed from 102.

32nd over: Afghanistan 116-4 (Asghar 5, Nabi 4) Pandya again, kicking off with a wide. Asghar cuts a single, Nabi pulls a double. Then there’s a horror shot as Nabi tries to smash over cover, but that ball was never full enough for the stroke and it takes a huge outside edge. Loops high over backward point, but two fielders converge and the man running out puts off the man running in. Neither of them go for it, and it drops between them. Two runs and a massive slice of luck for Nabi.

“Any clues on why Kohli hasn’t been turning to Kedar Jadhav as extensively in the World Cup as he was in their tour of Australia and NZ?” asks Kanishk Srinivasan. “He’s unorthodox, but I feel like he could be a great go-to as a street smart, blink-and-you-miss-it bowler who has the goods to take key wickets every now and then.”

I’m guessing that the aforementioned tours were a chance to let Jadhav bowl a fair bit, as with Shankar, to see if he could handle it and to let him get settled in that role. Then he can be called upon if needed. But here today, pace has got the rewards, especially the short ball. Whereas the spinners have been handled, even if they haven’t been expensive.

31st over: Afghanistan 110-4 (Asghar 4, Nabi 0) Chahal is doing a fine job in the deep, belting around again at fine leg to tumble and save Asghar’s leg glance from Bumrah. Two runs. A short ball makes Asghar flinch, but he’s able to play it down into the pitch. Bumrah is getting up towards 150 kilometres per hour. But his yorker doesn’t get through Asghar, and his bouncer gets pulled for one. Still taking on the short ball.

115 needed from 114 balls. Here comes the tipping point.

30th over: Afghanistan 107-4 (Asghar 1, Nabi 0) Asghar Afghan, formerly Asghar Stanikzai, gets moving immediately, driving Pandya to deep cover for one. But Nabi wants to take his time, resisting the wide ball, defending the straight ball.

29th over: Afghanistan 106-4 (Asghar 0) Last ball of the over takes the second wicket, and Mohammad Nabi will be out next. So it’s a case of starting from scratch for him and Asghar Afghan. They need 118 from 126. Treat it as an easy T20 total with a couple of batsmen missing?

Two in three balls! The batsmen crossed when Rahmat was out, so Bumrah has got both set batsmen in an over. Short and at the body, Rahmat was hopping as he played it, no control, and it just popped off the splice far enough for Bumrah to run forward in his follow-through and dive.

There’s that breakthrough. Another half-hearted pull shot, another top edge. Another ball that might drop short, but Chahal charges in from the deep to take it diving forward. Now the heat will start to turn up for Afghanistan.

28th over: Afghanistan 106-2 (Rahmat 36, Hashmatullah 21) Once again Hashmatullah can’t get spin bowling away. He top-edges Kuldeep for a lucky couple of runs, but swings and misses well outside off stump a couple of times. One of those might have been a wide as it turned away, left-arm wrist spinner to left-handed batsman, but it probably turned more after it passed the batsman.

27th over: Afghanistan 104-2 (Rahmat 36, Hashmatullah 19) Bumrah returns, with Kohli starting to need a wicket now. I still firmly believe he’ll get one soon, and Afghanistan will fall over. But dreams must live while they can. Kohli wrestles with the classic captain’s angst about whether to have a slip, and decides not to. So Rahmat deliberately edges through slip, hoping for four but third man is fine enough to keep it to one. Hashmatullah drives a single for Afghanistan’s hundred. Rahmat gets a tiny top edge to a slower ball but it falls short of Dhoni. Interesting whether they umpire would have given that if that catch had been taken. Rahmat takes a couple of runs next ball thanks to a misfield at backward point, then has two runs saved when he pulls to fine leg and Kuldeep dives well. Six from the over

26th over: Afghanistan 98-2 (Rahmat 31, Hashmatullah 18) This is better stuff from the batting pair. A couple of singles from Kuldeep to start the over, just keeping things moving. Then with the right and left handers swapping over, Kuldeep doesn’t get his line quite right and drops short. Rahmat has the composure to go back and pull, top shot, hitting hard and into the gap at midwicket. Two sweepers converge but it pings between them, the placement spot on.

127 to win from 144.

25th over: Afghanistan 91-2 (Rahmat 25, Hashmatullah 17) That’s the second time today that Dhoni has given it the big ones for a stumping appeal when the foot never left the crease. Hashmatullah was always safe. Strange stuff. This comes just after the batsman carves away a cut shot backward of point from Chahal, splitting the field for four.

24th over: Afghanistan 87-2 (Rahmat 25, Hashmatullah 13) Lots of air for Kuldeep Yadav, he’ll keep challenging the batsmen all day long. They pick up three singles. Afghanistan need 138 from 156 balls, that gap narrowing for India all the time.

23rd over: Afghanistan 84-2 (Rahmat 24, Hashmatullah 11) That’s another shabby over from Afghanistan. Chahal lands his leg-breaks nicely, but Hashmatullah just blocks out four of them, no thought of angling the bat to find a run. Then when he finally whips a full ball to the deep, they stroll one run instead of hustling for two. You can’t afford more overs that go for one run.

22nd over: Afghanistan 83-2 (Rahmat 24, Hashmatullah 10) Thank you very much, says Hashratullah, as Kuldeep Yadav bowls the kind of bad ball that will come along eventually. Dragged down short, and the batsman is good enough to rock back and smash it through midwicket for four. A few singles make it seven from the over. They need five per over and they’re still at less than four.

21st over: Afghanistan 76-2 (Rahmat 23, Hashmatullah 4) Pandya is going full aggression. The field is mostly in, with men back on the hook. So Pandya keeps using that short ball, and no one can do anything with it. Finally, to end the over, he goes full. Somehow Rahmat Shah anticipates that, coming down the wicket and driving through cover for four! Glorious shot, into the gap beautifully.

20th over: Afghanistan 71-2 (Rahmat 19, Hashmatullah 3) A couple of singles down the ground from Kuldeep, then Rahmat cuts the ball hard but Pandya at cover dives to stop it. At least some intent in that stroke. Rahmat settles for another single. Hashmatullah gets an inside edge onto his pad, misreading the turn, then sweeps a fuller ball for one. There’s your four from the over.