England vs Afghanistan, Highlights, ICC World T20 2016: Moeen Ali Helps England Win by 15 Runs

England recovered from a disastrous start against Afghanistan at Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla on Wednesday, to put up a target of 142/7. Moeen Ali 41*  was crucial to negate the Afghanistan attack. England bowlers then restricted Afghanistan 10 127/9. Catch highlights of England vs Afghanistan here. (LIVE SCORECARD | POINTS TABLE | NEWS | VIDEOS | GALLERIES)

18:26 hrs IST: England Win by 15 runs

18:22 hrs IST: Shafiqullah is not the one to stop though. He hits a six and a four and the equation is - Afghanistan need 24 off the last over.

18:17hrs IST: Overs 18.1|| Afghanistan 108/9

WICKET!! Amir Hamza  (1)  is run out. Shafiqullah hits Ali in the mid-wicket region, but then sends back Hamza, who realises his fate and doesn't even attempts to reach the pitch.  

18:15hrs IST: Shafiqullah is not bogged down though as he hits Willey for a four in the 18th over.

18:12hrs IST: If England wins this will be their second victory. They will remain in contention to qualify for the semifinals from Group 1.  

18:07hrs IST: Overs 16.4 || Afghanistan 94/8

WICKET!! Samiullah (22) out. It's a widish delievry but Samiullah wants to hit it over cover but is caught by Root

18:02 hrs IST: Overs 15.4 || Afghanistan 85/7

WICKET!! Najib Zadran (14) run out. Confusion on the crease. He is sent back by Samiullah while taking a run but he falls short. 

England celebrate the dismissal of an Afghanistan batsman in World T20.

© AFP

17:57hrs IST: Najibullah and Sami's partnership has reached 19 off just 13 balls. Can the duo mange the unthinkable?

17:53hrs IST: Yet, it's not over until it's over. Najibullah Zadran takes the attack to England as he hits Ali for a six and a four in the 14th over. 

17:51hrs IST: Afghanistan are staring at a big defeat now. The pitch and their horror batting show have contributed to their doom.

17:44hrs IST: Overs 12.5 || Afghanistan 64/6

WICKET!! Nabi (12) gone. Nabi tried to loft Ali over the top but mistimes to Jordan at wide long-on

17:35hrs IST: Samiullah Shenwari at the crease. He and Nabi have reputation to be big-hitters.   

17:29hrs IST: Overs 8.5 || Afghanistan 39/5

WICKET!! Noor Ali Zadran (17) out. He punches Adil Rashid's short of a length delivery straight to bowler, as Afghanistan are five down.

17:27hrs IST: Arguably Afghanistan's most in-form batsman Mohammad Nabi is here. A lot depends on him to lead his side ooutof thsi precarious situation.

17:24hrs IST: Overs 7.5|| Afghanistan 35/4

WICKET!! Rashid Khan (15) out. Rashid drives straight to Morgan off Ali at short extra-cover, who leaps to take a good catch.

17:19hrs IST: Liam Plunkett who is playing his first World T20 match  has been brilliant so far. He started with a maiden and in his second over gives away just three runs in his second over

17:17hrs IST: SIX!! Rashid again. This time he goes after Jordan and hits the bowler for a six behind square!!

17:14 hrs IST: Rashid Khan takes the attack to the opposition as he hits Willey for a four in the last ball of the fifth over.

17:10hrs IST: Afghanistan is making a mess out of their chase. After a good bowling performance, Afghanistan top-order have not been able to deliver.

17:07hrs IST: Overs 2.6|| Afghanistan 13/3

WICKET!! Gulbadin Naib (0) out. Gulbadin tries to hit a short ball off Willey over the top but is caught at extra cover by Stokes

17:01hrs IST: Overs 2|| Afghanistan 12/2

WICKET!! Asghar Stanikzai (1) out. Jordan pitches the ball just outside off and the captain edged the ball straight to Root at first slip

16:58hrs IST: Chris Jordan to bowl the second over for England.

16:52hrs IST: Over 0.2 || Afghanistan 4/1

Wicket!! England gets a wicket off the second ball. Willey traps Shahzad (4) plumb in front of the wicket.

16:52hrs IST: Afghanistan openers Noor Ali Zadran and Mohammad Shehzad are here. And the latter starts with a boundary off Willey in the first ball of the innings.

Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi watches as Moeen Ali takes a run on Wednesday.

© AFP

16:33hrs IST: England end on 142/7. Considering the disastrous start, it's a decent total for Eoin Morgan's. And Moeen Ali (41*) should be credited for it. 

16:27hrs IST: England, after the bad starts, are looking at a decent score. Ali and Willey's stand reach 50 in just 31 balls. This partnership might turn out to be a crucial one. 

16: 21hrs IST: Ali and Willey strike back in the 19th over as they hit Hamza for three sixes and one four. England are past 130 now.

16:15hrs IST: 100 comes up for England in 17.1 overs. Ali scores off Zadran as England reach three-figure mark.

16:09hrs IST: Moeen Ali is the last recognised batsman on the crease and he does justice to his reputation with a four off Nabi. David Willey is at the other end for England.

16:05hrs IST: Over 14.3|| England 85/7

WICKET!! Jordan (15) gone. Rashid's turner gets a leading edge off Jordan and catches him easily.

16:01hrs IST: England equal their lowest ever T20 score as Jordan hits Mohammad Nabi for a four.   

15:58hrs IST: Samiullah Shenwari bowls five wides in the !! England would love that, they need those runs!! With a little help from the Afghanistani bowler, England get nine runs in the 13th over. 

15:55hrs IST: Jordan and Ali take just one run in the in the 12th over, bowled by Rashid. The catastrophic start is too much to handle for these batsmen.  

15:50 hrs IST: After the disastrous start, England's Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan look to take England closer to 100. Both are bowling all-rounders. The are relying on singles to rotate the strike and keep the scorecard moving. Good strategy in these circumstances.

15:45hrs IST: Overs 9.2|| England 57/6

WICKET!! Stokes (7) out. Rashid Khan bowls him with a googly as Stokes tries to pull him and inside edges the ball, which hits the stumps. 

15:42hrs IST: England are off to a terrible start. Can they cross 100 here? Their lowest T20I score is 80, which they scored against India in 2012 World T20

15:39 hrs IST: Overs 8.1 || England 50/5

WICKET!! Buttler (6) out. He drives a Samiullah Shenwari delivery and Nabi takes an absolute stunner at short extra cover. 

15:35hrs IST: After a disastrous sixth over in which England lost three wickets. Buttler and Stokes play it safe as they take only six and two runs in the seventh and eighth overs respectively. 

Afghanistan players celebrate the dismissal of an England batsman.

© AFP

15:31hrs IST: Over 6|| England 42/4

WICKET! Root (12) run out. He calls for a single but is sent back by Stokes, as Afghanistan takes advantage of the situation and the England batsman falls short. E

15:29 hrs IST: Nabi is on a hat-trick now. And there is a big appeal for LBW against Ben Stokes. But umpire is not interested .

15:27hrs IST: WICKET!! Morgan out for a duck. Nabi picks second successive wicket he clean bowls Morgan. England 42/3 (5.4 overs)

15:25hrs IST: WICKET!! Vince (22) out! Nabi bowls a slower ball to Vince , who comes down the ground and gives an easy catch to the bowler. England 42/2 (5.3 overs)

15:22 hrs IST: Vince cuts Hamza for a four and then Root hits a four too.

15:17hrs IST: England recover quickly from the early shock. First Vince hits Zadran for four with a straight drive in the first ball of the fourth over, and then Root hits a six over midwicket. Good over there for England.

15:13hrs IST: WICKET!! Roy (5) out. Hamza's delivery was aimed at leg stump and Roy missed it completely. England 16/1 (3 ovs) 

15:10hrs IST: Hamza's second over and it's a four. Vince comes down the pitch but lofts the ball over mid-wicket

15:08hrs IST: England get their first boundary as Roy hits Zadran straight down the ground for a brilliant four.

15:04hrs IST: Another left-armer Shahpur Zadran to bowl the second over Afghanistan. They may be the minnows but Afghanistan has thrown quite a few good fast bowlers, who can bowl above 140kmph regularly.

15:03 hrs IST: Excellent start for Afghanistan. Hamza restricts England to just two runs in the opening over.

14:58hrs IST: England openers Jason Roy and James Vince are out to bat! Amir Hamza will open the bowling for Afghanistan

14:47hrs IST: England XI - J Roy, J Vince, J Root, E Morgan, B Stokes, J Buttler, M Ali, A Rashid, D Willey, C Jordan, L Plunkett

14:46hrs IST: Afghanistan XI - M Shahzad, N Zadran, A Stanikzai, S Shafiq, M Nabi, S Shenwari, G Naib, N Zadran, A Hamza, R Khan, S Zadran

14:36hrs IST: England have made two changes. Alex Hales is out with stiff back. He is being replaced by James Vince, and Topley's out. Liam Plunkett replaces him.

14.33hrs IST: TOSS! England win toss and opt to bat against Afghanistan.

England lead Afghanistan 2-0 in head-to-head encounters.

© NDTV

England have never lost to Afghanistan in two previous T20 internationals. Their first win came in Colombo in October 2012 in the ICC World T20. England won by 116 runs. But this Afghanistan team has come a long way as Sri Lanka and South Africa found out in the ongoing ICC World T20 2016.

With nothing to lose, Afghanistan's aggressive cricket can hurt England's chances. They have trained in Greater Noida for a couple of months and will get a lot of support at Kotla. England will surely be under pressure.

On form, England look competent. After losing to the West Indies, England beat South Africa in a run fest in Mumbai. England pulled off the second-highest run chase in Twenty20 international history to stun South Africa and get their World T20 campaign back on track.

Chasing 230 in Mumbai, Joe Root struck a composed 44-ball 83 after Jason Roy blitzed 43 from 16 deliveries. But conditions in Kotla will be different. The slow and spinning nature of the Delhi pitch may not see high scores.

Given England's history of losing to associate nations in ICC events, Eoin Morgan will not think too far ahead. England have lost to the Netherlands twice in 2009 and 2014 World T20 and Ireland in the 2011 50-over World Cup in India.

Afghanistan certainly see their chance to score a big win against a Test-playing nation in this edition of the ICC World T20.