World T20 cricket: India v Afghanistan; Australia v Ireland as it happened

So that looks like it's about it for this match as a contest as Afghanistan enter the last two overs needing 34 to win.

Nabi bowls a textbook yorker to keep Dhoni at bat. But not for long. the India captain smacks a low full toss down the ground for four then blasts the last ball for six. India finish on 159-5. It should be enough, but let's just wait and see...

Dawlat Zadran gifts India an extra run and ball with a very wide wide. Then a howler as a leg side ball can't be stopped by makeshift keeper Sadiq and runs away for five wides. Dhoni adds to the Afghan pain with a characteristic leg side heave for four as India pick up 12 runs from the penultimate over.

Terrific shot from Raina as he picks the length early and plants one past deep midwicket for four. But still India can't really light the fireworks as they are kept to singles for the rest of the over. Just two to come now. Would India settle for 150 now?

Nabi kissed the flag on his shirt after taking that catch - a slighlty more meaningful gesture than some of the badge-kissing among Premier League footballers I would say. There's a huge cheer for the iconic presence walking out to bat - India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Raina gets a single off the last ball to keep the strike.

When in doubt, bring back the big man. Shapoor Zadran, the tall, quick left-armer, comes back for his fourth and final over but Kohli is in the zone now and he finds the boundary again with an inside-out drive over wide of long-off. Signs that Raina has his eye in two as he places a lofted drive for a one-bounce four then pulls a full toss away for another.

It looks like keeper Shahzad's magic spray has worn off and he's hobbling off the pitch now. Karim Sadiq steps in to don the gloves and pads, while Shahzad receives more treatment on the other side of the rope.

New man Suresh Raina pushes down the ground for a single, and there are three more from the over. When will India want to get a bit of a jog on?

Kohli is getting going now, latching on to the off-spinner Sadiq and driving another four down the ground. A full toss to end the over is rather generously treated by Yuvraj, who picks out long on and has to settle for a single. We're almost at the half-way point and I think most people would have expected India to have a few more than 60 on the board.

Great to see Yuvraj back where he belongs after almost a year out of the game having treatment for lung cancer. Off-spinner Karim Sadiq is brought into the attack now and the Indian pair work him hither and thither for five singles and a two.

Shapoor Zadran has some serious wheels, at least I think that's the word for it, and this match is well and truly alive. The new bowler is Gulbodin Naib, but he doesn't quite have the same pace as the Zadran's and Kohli has plenty of time to push a perfectly decent ball past cover for four. Yuvraj clips one down the ground but the ball clatters straight into the stumps and denies him runs.

Great over from Dawlat Zadran as he sends down four dots in a row followed by a pair of singles.

Here comes my hero Virat Kohli, surely one of the best batsmen in world cricket at the moment. He clubs his first ball to mid-off, refuses the single and Sehwag is almost run out by a direct hit at the non-striker's end. I like the look of this guy Shapoor as he slants one past Sehwag's edge. The next ball undoes the good work, however, as Sehwag whips a leg stump half-volley through midwicket for four. The last ball beats the bat again. Great contest.

India: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Mahendra Dhoni (c/wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Lakshimipathy Balaji.

Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Javed Ahmadi, Karim Sadiq, Nawroz Mangal (c), Asghar Stanikzai, Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shenwari, Dawlat Zadran, Shapoor Zadran, Gulbodin Naib, Izatullah Dawlatzai.

Cameron White gets Australia within spitting distance of the line with a pair of boundaries, then tickles one down the ground for two. Last ball of the over, three needed, Bailey tries to plant one into the stands ... but misses.

Just seen pictures of the India boys scoffing down their lunch. They're up next against Afghanistan at the same ground. Bailey, after a slow start, finally gets hold of one to whip Rankin away for a boundary.

Australia are making a bit of a meal of finishing this as White swings and misses at a slower ball from Kevin O'Brien. They only score three runs from the over to take us into the 14th, with 21 runs still needed.

I think you may know the new man - a certain Michael Hussey strides out to the crease boasting a T20 strike rate of 140.4. Nudges and nurdles to get the new partnership going with four singles.

Australia want to get this done and dusted and, with 10 wickets in hand, I have a feeling they will get their wish. Warner flicks Cusack off his toes for four to becomes the third player to reach 1,000 T20 runs. Numbers one and two? Brendon McCullum of New Zealand and our very own Kevin Pietersen.

Left-arm spinner George Dockrell is given the last Powerplay over and his first ball is a fraction too full and is thrashed through extra cover by Warner for four. Singles follow, then three through the off side as Warner's cut grinds to a halt just inside the rope.

"It's Cruiseville for ths Australians so far" says commentator John Kelly on TMS. Alex Cusack stems the flow of runs a touch, however, with some tidy medium pace. Boyd Rankin hurls himself to the ground to keep a Watson drive to a single and Australia score just four from the over.

Four to Watson, deflected through fine leg. Then Rankin really lets the side down with consecutive wides down leg. Here's a chance, Watson gets a leading edge but it floats just over the head of mid-off. Two more leg side wides follow and this over is turning into an epic! A better ball cramps Watson up and his hand comes off the bat but they still run a single. One to Warner makes it 12 from a very expensive over.

Time for some military medium from Trent Johnston, although I certainly wouldn't say that to his face. He looks like the sort who wouldn't take too kindly to even the gentlest of ribbings and he's about twice my size! Maybe he heard me because his third ball beats the edge and carries through at a good height. Fine over - just the three runs from it.

Warner takes three balls to get off the mark with a single to midwicket's left. A defensive push from Watson skews off the outside edge for a single. Then Warner plays the first shot in anger as he clobbers Rankin over mid-on for our. Plenty of chit chat between keeper Wilson and Warner and the umpires aren't happy about it. They exchange words with Ireland captain William Porterfield at the end of the over. "Settle your stumper down Will" is the gist of it.

Cusack has a swing at Cummins but doesn't get enough power to offer a catch to long-on. Then a slow bouncer fools the batsman. Two off the last ball but it's a good over from Cummins, who was given a bit of tap earlier on but has responded well. We'll be seeing this young man in the Ashes next summer I should wager.

It's ones and twos for the rest of the over as Cusack and Nigel Jones try to nudge Ireland towards a reasonable score. Just two overs to go - I reckon they would settle for 120 now.

Cummins to Cusack - four, punched over mid-off with plenty of bottom hand. Then another boundary, courtesy of a superb piece of improvisation from Johnston, who steps away and guides a bouncer over the keeper's head.

The O'Briens are gone, so now it's down to two thirty-somethings to try to get Ireland up to a healthy total. Trent Johnston, the Aussie-born 38-year-old, picks up two through midwicket, then there's a single apiece as Hogg finishes his spell with impressive figures of 4-0-22-1. Who said Twenty20 was a young man's game? No-one? Ok, I'll shut up.

Kevin O'Brien, how I've missed you! Starc drops short and the flame-haired man mountain steps back and pulls. The ball bounces just inside the rope and runs away for four. The last ball is much fuller and O'Brien throws the kitchen sink at it to collect four more over mid-off. He has 35 from 27 balls now and he's giving Ireland a glimmer of hope.

Kevin O'Brien is taking a few risks now and he's very nearly caught and bowled by Danny Christian, the ball slipping through his fingers for two. The next ball is battered through the covers for four. Christian responds well with a trio of dot balls before O'Brien clumps the last ball of the over to deep point for a single.

Hogg flips one out of the back of his hand and Kevin O'Brien gets his first boundary via a thick edge. His second follows soon afterwards as O'Brien waits for the ball and steers it through the gully for four. Lovely shot.

Maxwell sends down a shocker of a ball but Niall O'Brien can't get hold of it and they only manage a single. One to Kevin too, then a lustier swipe from O'Brien finally finds the boundary as Cummins, diving like a goalkeeper, can only help the ball over the rope.

A bit more purpose about Ireland in Hogg's second over as the O'Briens both pick up two runs. But no boundaries for four overs now and Ireland are well off the pace at the moment.

Ireland are looking nervous out there, scrambling tentative singles here and there but not playing with any conviction. Kevin O'Brien uses the pace of the ball to steer one away through the gully area. Starc dives full length on the boundary to keep them to two. Three singles off Watson's over too as the rebuilding work begins.

No review system here, remember, but Wilson would have been a fool to send that one upstairs because he was as plumb as plumb can be. We have the O'Brien brothers at the crease now and boy to do Ireland need something special from the siblings.

Niall O'Brien scrapes a lucky two from an under-edge that is not a million miles from shivering his timbers as it flies past the wicketkeeper. Daniel Christian is the new bowler, he's got a bit of zip about him as he slides one past Wilson's outside edge. O'Brien aims a cut shot at the last ball but connects with nothing other than thin air.

That's more like it. Gary Wilson guides his first ball through the covers for four.

Ed Joyce drills Cummins down the ground and captain George Bailey dives over it a mid-on to concede four runs, much to the bowler's chagrin. Joyce smacks the next ball even harder but it's brilliantly stopped at point. The next ball is short and hoisted in front of square on the leg side for four. Just one powerplay over to go.

Niall O'Brien comes in at number four and Ireland need him to get this party started. He can't beat the infield with his first two balls though and Ireland are struggling here.

Pat Cummins, the great hope for Australian fast bowling, is given the third over of the match, and he luzzes it down at quite some lick. Ed Joyce picks up his first boundary through the the leg side as replays reveal Glenn Maxwell's elbow was touching the rope when he fielded the ball.

Joyce gets off the mark with a neat flick off Starc for a single, before Stirling prods for a single of his own, but the other four balls are dots to keep the Aussies right on top.

Ed Joyce is the new batsman but they crossed while the ball was in there so Stirling is on strike and is promptly beaten by a beauty from Watson. Aggers is a bit bemused by Watson's darker hair - trying to hide a bit of grey perhaps? Ropey start this from Ireland as Stirling dinks one away in the air towards midwicket, sets off for a run then scrambles back into his ground. Fine finish to the over though as Stirling leans back and smashes the ball over point for four.

There's a very familiar look to the Ireland team, which never seems to change much: WTS Porterfield*, PR Stirling, EC Joyce, NJ O'Brien, GC Wilson†, KJ O'Brien, AR Cusack, DT Johnston, NG Jones, GH Dockrell, WB Rankin.

Ten minutes until the off.

No word on the Ireland team yet, but here's the Aussie line-up: Shane Watson, David Warner, Mike Hussey, George Bailey (capt), Cameron White, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade, Dan Christian, Brad Hogg, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc.

One or two fresh faces in there, and one of two slightly old and haggard ones too - Bradley Hogg, 41 years old, take a bow.