Cricket World Cup 2019: Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa pick three wickets each, Afghanistan bowled out for 207

Australia will be firm favourites to knock off the runs in the fourth match of a tournament characterised by one-sided contests so far.

Defending champions Australia made a strong statement as they bowled out a gritty Afghanistan side for 207 with Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa taking three wickets each in Match 4 of the ICC World Cup 2019 at the County Ground in Bristol on Saturday.

Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib made the bold decision of opting to bat first which backfired severely. Left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc struck in the third delivery of the innings with a beauty of a delivery that left Mohammad Shahzad’s woodwork in a complete mess. The other opener — Hazratullah Zazai – too departed for a duck by Pat Cummins in the third over.

With their team in deep trouble, Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi led a fightback for the minnows, playing in only their second World Cup, putting on a gritty 51 for the third wicket.

Legspinner Zampa broke the partnership with a beautifully flighted delivery that brought Shahidi forward and beat the batsman, with wicketkeeper Alex Carey whipping off the bails.

Steve Smith denied Shah a World Cup fifty, taking a catch at short cover off the bowling of Zampa to send him back to the pavilion for 43 off 60 balls.

In the next over, former skipper Smith dived to his left to stop a drive from Mohammad Nabi, returning the ball smartly to Carey, who whipped off the bails with the batsman stranded, leaving Afghanistan struggling at 77-5.

But Najibullah Zadran — ably assisted by his skipper — took the fight to his illustrious opponents, smashing 20 runs in four balls off Zampa, including successive sixes.

The big hits brought the knots of Afghan supporters to their feet and a line of flag-waving fans ran along the front of one of the stands. Zadran brought up his 50 off 46 balls with an edge over the slips off a sharp Starc bouncer.

But their momentum was slowed the next ball when Naib top-edged a short delivery form Marcus Stoinis and Carey completed the catch.

Just four balls later another Stoinis short ball dismissed Zadran, with Carey again taking the catch to reduce Afghanistan to 162-7.

Rashid Khan smashed 20 in a Stoinis over to lift the spirits of the Afghan fans and another driven six off Zampa brought up the 200.

But he was lbw to the next ball and the innings ended after 38.2 overs when Mujib Ur Rahman was bowled by Cummins.

As expected, Smith and opener David Warner were both included for their first full major international match since they completed year-long bans imposed after a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

Australia will be firm favourites to knock off the runs in the fourth match of a tournament characterised by one-sided contests so far, but Naib will be hoping leg-spin star Rashid can work his magic.

Australia endured a torrid 2018 in ODIs but appear to be peaking at the right time as they chase a sixth World Cup. They came out on top in their series in India earlier this year before humbling Pakistan 5-0 in the United Arab Emirates.

Brief scores: Afghanistan 207 all out in 38.2 overs (Najibullah Zadran 51, Rahmat Shah 43; Pat Cummins 3/40, Adam Zampa 3/60) versus Australia

With inputs from AFP