Nawroz Mangal smashed 65 off 56 balls, including two fours and three sixes in a modest chase against Papua New Guinea.

The win has moved Afghanistan to within striking distance of the crucial second spot in the competition, only one point behind the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Netherlands.

The team will be playing over a span of four weeks despite security concerns keeping every other team out, including minnows Bangladesh.

England skipper Stuart Broad was delighted at his team's 116-run victory over Afghanistan in the ICC World Twenty20 and attributed it to the "outstanding" and "mature" batting by the English batsmen.

Luke Wright smashed an unbeaten 99 off 55 balls as defending champions England knocked Afghanistan out of the World Twenty20 with a 116-run victory in Colombo on Friday.

The final margin might have been a comfortable 23 runs, but this was far from a walk in the park for India.

Afghanistan are the minnows of world cricket but their captain Nawroz Mangal tried to play a few mind games ahead of their World Twenty20 opener against India on Wednesday, saying that his batsmen were confident of playing off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin having done well against Saeed Ajmal and Sunil Narine.

He is the rugged face of Afghan cricket with a story fit for the big screen, and he embodies not only his nation's turbulent past, but its hopes for a brighter future.