World T20: Afghanistan go down to England

The Afghans had promised much, but only flattered to deceive as they were crushed by England. The margin of 116 runs clearly showed the difference between the two teams. (All Photos AFP)

Choosing to bowl first, Afghanistan drew first blood when Shapoor Zadran bowled Craig Kieswetter for no score in the first over.

Luke Wright chose this game to get some runs against his name as he hit an unbeaten 99 off 55 balls and was unlucky to miss out on a three figure score.

He was given good support by Alex Hales who hit 31 as the duo put on 69 runs for the second wicket and effectively batted the Afghans out of the game.

Eoin Morgan scored a crucial 27 towards the end, and along with Jos Buttler, who hit a quick 15 from 7 balls, ensured that England finished off with a daunting 196/5 from their 20 overs.

Afghanistan were rocked early on as they lost 2 quick wickets and were tottering at 2/2.

But the hole got even deeper for Afghanistan as they were reeling at 26/8 and looked in danger of being bowled out for the lowest score in T20 Internationals.

Gulbodin Naib came to the party as he smashed 44 off 32 balls with some awesome shots. He rescued his team from further damage and gave the innings some substance. In all he hit 5 fours and 3 sixes in a 44 run partnership with Shapoor Zadran who scored 9.

But Naib could not change the end result of the match as Afghanistan were bundled out for 80 runs, giving England a 116 run victory. England will draw confidence from this win when they clash with India next on Sunday.