World T20: Afghanistan hope to catch West Indies off-guard

NEW DELHI: Minnows Afghanistan would be aiming to spoil West Indies' party by registering their maiden win in the ICC World Twenty20 when they take on the 2012 champions in the penultimate match of Group 1 in Nagpur on Sunday.
After making it to the Super 10 stage on the back of three wins, Afghanistan captain Asghar Stanikzai said that his team is aiming to record at least one win in the Super 10 stage. For this they will have to really work hard and fire all the ammunition they have in their armour.
Coached by Inzamam-ul Haq, the Afghanistan team got appreciation by the legends of the game Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Rahul Dravid for their good show in the tournament. Afghanistan have lost all their three games to the Test playing nations - England, South Africa and Sri Lanka - but were still praised for showing great character and fighting spirit.
Earlier in the tournament, chasing a target of 210-run set by South Africa, they raced to 105/2 and had reduced England to 85/7 at one stage on Wednesday. Trained by Manoj Prabhakar, Afghanistan have the desired ammo in the form of spinners Hamza Hotak, Samiullah Shenwari and Mohammad Nabi to halt West Indies' winning march.
West Indies' captain Darren Sammy, who said his team would have a party after qualifying for the semi-finals with their third straight win of the tournament on Friday, cannot afford to take Afghanistan team lightly.
After winning their games against England, Sri Lanka and South Africa, Sammy's team would want to make it four in a row. West Indies, who became second team after New Zealand to qualify for the semis, are in fine form. Like the Black Caps they have also won all three matches.
After defeating South Africa on Friday they topped the table of Group 1 with six points. If they fail to win against Afghanistan on Sunday they still have a chance to remain on top of the table.