ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 is proving to be the most entertaining world cups ever. It has everything; the drama, the controversy, the passion, the craze, the underdogs, the perfection, you name it you will find it.
There have been extremely close nerve wracking matches, completely one sided matches and major upsets as well. Netherlands beat South Africa and dented their confidence. The same South Africa who has been hammering runs like anything. 311 against Australia, 399 against England, 328 against Bangladesh and 428 against Sri Lanka. Yet the team failed to chase 245 against the Netherlands and succumbed at mere 2017.
Afghanistan on the other hand has been on an unbelievable journey. First, they beat England by 69 runs and then they destroyed Pakistan by winning by 8 wickets. By any yardstick these were not mere “upsets” or flukes. Afghanistan had shown quality cricket that is expected from a team that qualifies for the world cup.
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Against England, while Batting Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored 80 in just 57 deliveries and helped Afghanistan reach a total of 284 which should have been easy to achieve. However, England succumbed to the lethal spin attack in the form of Rashid Khan who took 3 wickets in his 9.3 overs with the economy of 3.89 and Mohammad Nabi who took 2 wickets in his six overs given only 16 runs i.e. the economy of 2.67. Afghan Bowlers limited England to a below par total of 215 runs.
Pakistan also seemed helpless against their spin attack where batting first could only score 282. Along with Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, this time Noor Ahmed added fire to the spin attack by sending three Pak batsmen back to pavilion, conceding 49 runs in his ten overs. Chasing 282 which a lot of people thought would be difficult for Afghanistan, however, the Afghan batting line up made it look like a cake walk. They scored 286 losing only two wickets. The batsmen looked absolutely in control, it was not if they are getting runs by edges or chances, they were pure cricketing shots. Pak bowlers looked helpless and clueless.
Afghanistan is due to play Sri Lanka and Netherlands next. With their current form, I don’t see a reason why they won’t continue their winning streak. Post which they will face Australia and South Africa, which might be the end of their journey in this world cup. Only time will tell how far they reach in this world cup.
It would be unfair to not call out their advantage against a team like Pakistan. Thanks to the Indian government and BCCI, Afghanistan has been using India as their home ground since 2015 owing to the security conditions in Afghanistan. From 2015 to 2017, Shahid Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida was used by them for practice and host their home series. In 2018 once they acquired test status, they changed their base to Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun. In 2019 the Afghan Cricket Board requested for a new home ground and BCCI approved their request. In 2019 they used Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow as their home ground. Also, to add to this is the IPL factor. Afghan players have been consistently participating and performing in this fantastic league, giving them an opportunity to play against and alongside the world’s best cricketing talent. The lethal spin duo Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmed played for Gujarat Titans who lost the final against Chennai Super Kings. Naveen Ul Haq took 11 wickets in his 8 games that he played for Lucknow Super Giants this year. Rahmanulla Gurbaz played for Kolkata Knight Riders and scored 227 runs of his 11 innings. The list continues.
The point being, they had the much needed exposure to Indian playing conditions and also the familiarity to the Indian pitches. The ten venues that are hosting the world cup matches also hosted various IPL games. On the contrary, Pakistan hasn’t played on Indian pitches in ages. They had absolutely no clue as to what it feels like playing in India. A lot changed in India after they played last in India.
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World Cup happening in India should definitely boost their chances of improving their stats as well as confidence. In the coming time, Afghanistan should continue improving especially when there are noteworthy efforts in improving the cricket infrastructure in their true home as well. Indian government since 2014 has been investing in Afghan Cricket. India allocated a million dollars to build a stadium in Kandhar in Aug of 2014. India allocated another $1.7 million towards cricket infrastructure in 2018. This includes constructing a stadium in Balkh along with $400,000 for constructing another stadium in Logar Province and a guest house for players in Kandahar.
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