Put into bat on a sporting track at the R Premadasa Stadium, the Indian top-order, sans Kohli, failed to make an impression with the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh missing out on an opportunity to put up a big score under their belt before the marquee game against England.
It was mainly due to Kohli's 39-ball 50 and an useful 32-ball 38-run knock from Suresh Raina helped India set a decent if not an impressive target against the minnows.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni provided the final flourish ending the innings with a four and six of the last two deliveries to remain unbeaten on 18 from nine balls.
The Indians were also helped by some poor effort on the field by Afghanistan as they dropped as many as four catches
