REASON WHY BUMRAH BECAME 'MAN OF THE MATCH' EVEN AFTER SHAMI TOOK 'HAT-TRICK'

The India Vs Afghanistan match was a nail biting one. Pacer Mohammed Shami's last-over hat-trick saved India from a mighty scare as they managed to defeat Afghanistan by 11 runs to inch closer towards World Cup semi-finals at The Rose Bowl in Southampton on June 22.

Team India gave brilliant display of death bowling by Shami and Jasprit Bumrah who compensated for an inexplicable batting. The combined might of Rohit Sharma, Rahul, Jadhav, Dhoni and Kohli, could not face the bump in form that a desperate Afghan team had come with.

It came as a shock to Indian fans where two of India’s bowlers stood out amongst the barrage of insane spins and yorkers- Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami.

According to Deccan Chronicle reports, while Shami  put an end to the match with four wickets at the expense of just 40 runs, it was Jasprit Bumrah who walked away with the Man of the Match title, with a modest figure of just 2/39. However the statistics did not reveal Bumrah’s Maiden over with two wickets (Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi) half-way through the innings which had cut off Afghanistan’s growing attack and command.

The match was a 50-50 all the way till the end, until first-time world cup player Mohammad Shami dispatched Mohammad Nabi, and the next two batsmen, in a hat-trick in the last over, with India winning by a margin of just 11 runs, reports Deccan Chronicle.

Rightly justifying his tag as the number one international bowler, Bumrah cut off Afghanistan’s attacks at critical points in the match, eventually leading to their defeat. "It’s simple. We wanted to use him smartly when the conditions allow,” said skipper Virat Kohli after the match.