Ibrahim Zadran’s 95 leads Afghanistan to big win in Jonathan Trott’s farewell

CHENNAI: A Super-8 entry was the minimum that Afghanistan would have hoped for if they planned to give coach Jonathan Trott a fitting farewell. It didn’t turn out that way, though, with the Afghans exiting in the group stage.But on Thursday, they ensured that their long-time English coach finished his Afghan assignment with a win. Opener Ibrahim Zadran (95*, 56 balls; 7x4, 5x6) put his skillful hitting on full display as he smashed a stellar knock, his second successive half-century, to power his team to an 82-run win over Canada.Zadran’s innings — measured at the start and menacing at the finish — combined with his crucial 95-run stand for the third wicket with Sediqullah Atal (44, 32 balls; 2x4, 2x6) took Afghanistan to an imposing 200-4, after being put to bat.The score proved more than sufficient as Canada struggled against Afghanistan’s formidable spin attack. Veteran spinner Mohammad Nabi, who probably is playing his last World Cup, accentuated Canada’s fall with 4-7 on a surface that aided the tweakers.Rashid Khan (2-19) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (1-23) applied the choke through the middle overs and sealed a comprehensive victory.Earlier, Afghanistan lost opening enforcer Rahmanullah Gurbaz (30) and Gulbadin Naib in quick succession in the final over of the Powerplay. Pacer Jaskaran Singh (3-52) struck twice in four balls, first having Gurbaz caught at deep backward point after the batter smashed back-to-back boundaries, then trapping Naib LBW. Afghanistan reached 49-2 at the end of the Powerplay.SCORES: Afghanistan 200/4 (Zadran 95*, Atal 44; Jaskaran 3-52) beat Canada 118/8 (Thaker 30; Nabi 4-7) by 82 runs.