The Afghanistan team arrived in India with an aim to qualify for the Cricket World Cup semifinals. And after the half-way stage of the tournament they have already put the defending champion England and 1992 winner Pakistan on the verge of elimination.
Afghanistan shocked England by 69 runs at Delhi in one of the greatest World Cup upsets and then followed that with an authoritative eight-wicket win over Pakistan in Chennai.
With probably the best spin attack at the World Cup, Afghanistan will fancy their chances against Sri Lanka and the Netherlands in the upcoming games before facing high-flying South Africa and a rejuvenated Australia in their final two matches.
Whether Afghanistan could achieve their ultimate target of qualifying for the semifinals or not, they have surely made their mark with their two stunning victories over England and Pakistan.
Ex-Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, who coached Afghanistan 10 years ago, believes it will be big achievement for the Afghans if they finish with even six or eight points at the end of the league stage.
“They (Afghanistan) dictated from the first ball until the last ball when they played against England and Pakistan,” Latif told the Associated Press. “It was a terrific planning, whosoever planned it in their dressing room. The unity they have, makes them a very special team, and that’s reflected on the field.
“When I coached Afghanistan, I learnt only one thing and that was unity. They had been through some tough times.”
Afghanistan looked under-prepared when they lost to Bangladesh by six wickets after getting bowled out for 156 and Rohit Sharma’s blazing century handed them another eight-wicket drubbing at Delhi.
The two heavy losses didn’t shake the confidence of the Afghans as England collapsed for 215 against spinners Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi.
Latif is more impressed with young opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, whose aggressive 80 off 57 balls propelled Afghanistan’s total to challenging 284.
“Gurbaz showed that one man can do everything, his batting conquered England,” Latif said. “They have beaten the 2019 champions which is not a small thing. It was not a small victory. It should be written in golden words because now they have beaten two world champion teams.”
Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott has perfectly assessed the weaknesses of the opposition and their planning came to the fore against Pakistan when they included wrist spinner Noor Ahmad as their fourth spinner in the playing XI.
