Kohli leads India recovery after shock Sharma dismissal

Virat Kohli scored his third consecutive World Cup fifty as India recovered from the shock of losing Rohit Sharma early against Afghanistan on Saturday.

Indian skipper Kohli won the toss under sunny skies in Southampton and chose to bat but they were in early trouble when Sharma was bowled by Mujeeb Ur Rahman for just one, leaving India seven for one in the fifth over.

Sharma has been in superb form at the World Cup in England and Wales, scoring a century against Pakistan last week to add to his ton against South Africa.

Sharma's dismissal brought Kohli to the wicket, but India struggled to break free of the Afghan shackles, reaching 41-1 at the end of the first 10-over powerplay.

Off-spinner Mujeeb was particularly impressive, conceding just 18 runs in his six-over spell.

India lost KL Rahul for 30 with the score on 64.

Rahul top-edged a reverse-sweep into the hands of Hazratullah Zazai at short third man off the bowling of Mohammad Nabi.

Kohli, who scored half-centuries against Australia and Pakistan, reached his fifty off 48 balls, with four fours.

India passed the 100-run mark in the 23rd over.

Vijay Shankar was next to go, lbw to leg-spinner Rahmat Shah for 29, leaving India 122-3 in the 27th over.

Unbeaten India made just one change to their line-up after their win against Pakistan, with seam bowler Mohammed Shami replacing the injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Afghanistan, bottom of the 10-team World Cup table after losing all five of their games so far, made two changes, bringing in Zazai and Aftab Alam for Noor Ali Zadran and Dawlat Zadran.

India lose Sharma early against Afghanistan in World Cup clash

India lost Rohit Sharma early after winning the toss and choosing to bat against struggling Afghanistan in their World Cup match in Southampton on Saturday.

Unbeaten India made just one change to their line-up after their win against Pakistan, with seam bowler Mohammed Shami replacing the injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Afghanistan, bottom of the 10-team World Cup table, made two changes, bringing in Hazratullah Zazai and Aftab Alam for Noor Ali Zadran and Dawlat Zadran.

Sharma, who has scored two centuries in the World Cup so far, was bowled by Mujeeb Ur Rahman for just one, leaving India seven for one in the fifth over.

"It looks like a really good wicket - nice and hard," India captain Virat Kohli said earlier, after winning the toss.

"It's a beautiful day to play cricket so let's try and score lots of runs. Our mindset is always the same, regardless of the opposition. We can't take a side like Afghanistan lightly. We'll have to be on our A game and put in another precise performance."

Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib, whose side have lost all five of their matches in the tournament so far, said: "It doesn't matter if we win the toss or lose, it is a long day. I am happy with the batting (against England). It is a good thing we played out 50 overs."

India starts quest for big total vs Afghanistan

The 28th match of the Cricket World Cup has started with India looking to keep its unbeaten record at the tournament, and pile up a big total against Afghanistan.

With Bhuvneshwar Kumar injured, second seamer Mohammed Shami pairs up with Jasprit Bumrah for India for the first time in the ODI format. India all-rounder Vijay Shankar retained his spot ahead of attacking wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who was flown in as a replacement for the injured Shikhar Dhawan. KL Rahul now is firmly in place as the opening partner for Rohit Sharma.

"Whether we are playing a very strong team, or one that is coming up the ranks, our mindset is the same," India skipper Virat Kohli said at the toss. "We cannot take Afghanistan lightly; they are a dangerous side when in the groove."

Afghanistan brought in Hazratullah Zazai and Aftab Alam to replace Noor Ali Zadran and Dawlat Zadran. With like-for-like replacement in batting and bowling, respectively, it means Afghanistan still retain their three-pronged spin attack from its previous game.

Skipper Gulbadin Naib will contribute with medium pace, and is also slated to open the batting again.

Naib said he had hoped to bat first but now Afghanistan face a potentially tough time in the field.

India wins toss, bats vs Afghanistan in World Cup

India captain Virat Kohli has won the toss and elected to bat first against Afghanistan in the cricket World Cup group game at Hampshire's Rose Bowl.

Kohli says it looks "like a really good wicket," and so does the weather for the game.

India made one change from its 89-run win over archrival Pakistan last Sunday, bringing in bowler Mohammed Shami for the injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Afghanistan made two changes from its 15-run defeat to England where it batted for all 50 overs for the first time this tournament, bringing in Hazratullah Zazai and Aftab Alam.

Lineups:

India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (captain), Vijay Shankar, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.

Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Gulbadin Naib (captain), Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ikram Ali Khil, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Aftab Alam, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

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