India captain Kohli fined for 'excessive appealing' against Afghanistan

India captain Virat Kohli has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee for "excessive appealing" in a tense World Cup victory over Afghanistan , the International Council announced on Sunday.

The star batsman has also had one demerit point added to his disciplinary record after he was rule to have approached experienced Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar in an aggressive manner when appealing an lbw decision during the 29th over of India's nailbiting 11-run win over rank outsiders Afghanistan at Southampton on Saturday.

Kohli was found to have breached Level 1 of the ICC code of conduct, with his offence relating to the clause concerning "excessive appealing during an international match."

The India skipper admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Chris Broad, the former England batsman.

As such, there was no need for a formal hearing. Victory, sealed by a Mohammed Shami hat-trick, saw India remain on course to qualify for the semi-finals from the 10-team group stage but only after bottom of the table Afghanistan threatened to produce one of the all-time great upsets.

India's cricket board were criticised on social media after a tweet from their official account used the word "thump" to describe the team's tense 11-run World Cup victory over minnows Afghanistan on Saturday.

Virat Kohli celebrates the wicket of Afghanistan's Rahmat Shah on Saturday. Reuters

Gritty Afghanistan gave title contenders India a big scare in Southampton after restricting Virat Kohli's side to 224 for eight and then taking the chase to the final over.

Mohammad Nabi nearly pulled it off for Afghanistan, but Shami took a hat-trick to seal the game in the last over as the underdogs were bowled out for 213.

The official Twitter handle of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wrote, "And we march on - #TeamIndia thump Afghanistan by 11 runs."

The message soon became the butt of jokes as cricket fans noticed the gloating tone of the BCCI tweet.

"Thump? That is hugely disingenuous to a team that pushed you to the last over. Well played Afghanistan and perhaps India can learn how to win graciously," a Twitter user, who goes by the name leebailey, said.

Another user posted, "That's not called "thump". That's called escaping by the skin of their teeth. Well played Afghanistan!"

Two-time world champions India are unbeaten with four wins and a washout from five games as they move closer to a semi-final place.

Afghanistan remain bottom of the table with six losses.

Agence France-Presse