Afghanistan 198 for 7 (Rahmat 68, Nabi 31, Holder 3-39, Paul 2-29) beat West Indies 197 for 8 (Hope 43, Samuels 36, Mujeeb 3-33, Nabi 2-43)

Afghanistan nearly bottled what should have been a straightforward chase of 198, but the insurance provided by the brilliance of their spinners just about bailed them out in their Super-Sixes clash against West Indies. Throughout the 47.4 overs that the chase lasted, it always seemed like Afghanistan would pull this off one way or the other. And yet, they never managed to eliminate the apprehension that accompanied as one batsman after the other perished in their dash towards an early finish.

Where a cool head and common sense was the demand of the hour - the asking rate was always in control - rash judgement and impulsive strokeplay took over. In the end, they managed to hang in there, scraping through by three wickets, to hand West Indies their first defeat of the tournament, and keep their own campaign alive.

The second-innings indiscretions were a far cry from the top-class performance that their spinners put in. Facing a must-win in every remaining match, Afghanistan presented their best selves yet in the tournament to rein in a powerful West Indies line-up.

The circumstances couldn't be seemingly any more averse to bowling. These were pristine batting conditions, with the sun beating down on the Harare Sports Club, and a surface that came with a thin layer of sheen. To add to that, West Indies were coming into the game with an average first-innings score of 307 in the tournament. But Afghanistan's opening pair of pacer Dawlat Zadran and offspinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman demonstrated the old adage: well-begun is half-done.

Having seized the early advantage with the wicket of Chris Gayle, Afghanistan were relentless. Mujeeb's 3 for 33 underpinned what ended up being a spin-dominated innings, with as many as 39 overs coming from the slow bowlers. Mohammad Nabi became the first Afghanistan bowler to 100 ODI wickets, as West Indies limped to an underwhelming 197 for 8.

Mujeeb and Dawlat complemented each other perfectly. While Dawlat had the West Indies batsmen on a leash by continually probing away in the channel outside off, Mujeeb flummoxed them with a whole array of variants. Inside his first two overs, West Indies had been subjected to conventional offbreaks, carrom balls, topspinners, and a googly that smashed the top of an unsuspecting Gayle's off stump.