India take Afghanistan out of Cricket World Cup and New Zealand on the brink of a semi final

New Zealand has moved to the brink of the Cricket World Cup semi‑finals with a thrilling five‑run victory over West Indies this morning.

The win moved unbeaten New Zealand to the top of the table with 11 points and left West Indies staring at likely elimination in seventh place with three points.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami got a hat‑trick as India beat Afghanistan by 11 runs in a Cricket World Cup match this morning.

India looked in danger of losing when Afghanistan struck a boundary off the first ball of the final over to move to within 12 runs of victory.

However, Shami had Mohammad Nabi caught on the boundary for 52 before demolishing the stumps of numbers 10 and 11.

Defeat eliminates Afghanistan, while India move above England into third.

India had earlier posted 224‑8, with Virat Kohli top‑scoring with 67 on a slow pitch.

Afghanistan, who had never beaten India and whose only previous World Cup win was against Scotland in 2015, worked their way towards victory but were heavily reliant on Nabi after a middle order wobble saw them fall from 106‑2 to 166‑6.

Source: BBC

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