They narrowly beat the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by five wickets in New Delhi to keep alive their slim hopes of qualifying for the Super Eight stage of the tournament.
Afghanistan won the toss and took the first two UAE wickets in the first two overs.
But an 84-run third wicket partnership followed between Alsihan Sharafu and Shoaib Khan.
Khan top-scored with 68 off 48 deliveries as the UAE posted 160 for the loss of nine wickets in their 20 overs.
Afghanistan was calculated in reply, Ibrahim Zadran scored a fine 53 at the top of the order, while there were also telling contributions further down.
Darwish Rasooli made 33 and Azmatullah Omarzai an unbeaten 40. He hit the winning runs with four balls to spare and just five wickets down.
Afghanistan next play Canada on Thursday, while the UAE take on Group D leaders, South Africa, in Delhi on Wednesday.
Both these matches could of academic interest only for Afghanistan and the UAE if New Zealand beat Canada in Chennai on Tuesday, to guarantee their spot in the Super Eight.
–SABC–
