Afghanistan will recall their 69 run triumph over defending champions England as the most glorious feat till date. Suddenly the world cup has come alive. A strong statement is made. Finally boys have been able to join the mixed pieces of puzzle into a cohesive and collective effort that has engineered this memorable victory.
Gurbaz let loose at the top
After being put into bat first, Gurbaz started off the proceedings like a man on a mission. Due to his wide range of strokeplay, Woakes couldn’t settle into a rhythm. The ease with which Gurbaz found the gaps and effortlessly scored those boundaries and sixes, pushed the English team right on to their backfoot. Ibrahim gave him strong support from the other end. There is a chemistry between the two as they’ve been playing together from age group levels. Things look way under control when they are at the helm of things.
The 114-run opening stand came to an end
However Adil got the better of Ibrahim when he tried to execute a lofted on drive over the head of Root placed at short mid-on. That eventually broke the electrifying 114 run opening stand of Afghanistan which gave them the launchpad to enforce a 300+ target. Meanwhile England continued to apply pressure through spinners from both ends. That choked the momentum & once again the top order failed to capitalize the start. Rahmat Shah was hard done by Rashid. The pressure got to Gurbaz as he tried to steal a non existent single & committed suicide. From 114/0, Afghanistan was quickly reduced to 122/3.
Adil, Liam and Root tightened the screws
Hashmat and Azmat had to rebuild the innings again. But the impetus was gone. Although Azmat produced a few boundaries but that counter punch couldn’t stretch his innings beyond 19. Hashmat on the other hand was crawling at a snail’s pace. The team management made one crucial change. They brought Ikram as a replacement to Najib and that paid dividends in hindsight. Hashmat’s painful stay was over on 14 when Root rattled the top of his off stump. Afghanistan was five down and the tail was exposed in the 33rd over.
Ikram became the savior
Ikram took his time. Not only did he handle the spinners well, but those little partnerships with the spin trio bailed the team out slowly at a steady note. A few lusty blows by Mujeeb in the slog overs was icing on the cake. Meanwhile Ikram got to his third ODI half century. The momentum was somewhat back and a reasonable target was posted before England. With this fighting knock, Ikram has cemented his place in the middle order after being on the sidelines for more than two years.
England lost Bairstow & Root quickly
England started off on a concerning note as Bairstow’s stay was cut short by Farooqi with a delivery that came back sharply and thudded into his pads after pitching. Root was hard done by a wrong one that sneaked through his defenses. Afghanistan smelled blood as team Bazball had started to show nerves.
Malan and Butler couldn’t deliver
Nabi had the prior experience of foxing Malan if we roll our memories back to last year’s T20I world cup in Australia. All these while, Malan was edgy but was not getting out. Nabi was brought in and straightaway dismissed Malan when he tried to drive him through the covers, only to land in the cusp of Ibrahim. England was three down and a ray hope was starting to emerge into the minds of fans. Butler was standing in between the hopes of Afghanistan and England. Hashmat brought Rashid from one end and Naveen from the other. Soon, Naveen uprooted the timber of Jos through a peach of a delivery that came in sharply after pitching.
Spinners ripped through the English order
Livingstone had joined Brook in the middle but his stay was cut down by Rashid through his stock delivery. Liam was adjudged plumb in front and the spinners were starting to rule the roost on England. Brook was holding on from one end but kept losing his partners from the other. After Nabi dismissed Curran in the slips, Mujeeb was brought in for his final spell. Not only did he dismiss Woakes, but also got rid of the dangerous looking Brook.
Mujeeb and Rashid were the pick of bowlers
England was tottering and the whole cricketing fraternity was about to witness a history being made. Rashid had a few overs up his sleeves. By then Adil and Wood had started to throw their bats at everything. Hashmat went to his trump card for delivering the final nail. Not only Rashid Khan got the better of Adil in the slips where Nabi took an excellent low catch, but also sneaked through the defense of Wood. The stumps were knocked down and Afghanistan created their most historic triumph in the world cup‘s by overcoming a string of losses that started from 2019. All these while Hashmat marshalled his bowling troops quite well which eventually paid off.
New Zealand next in Chennai
Mujeeb was adjudicated player of the match for his all-round contributions of 28 runs and grabbing three important wickets. Rashid Khan also received a 3-fer conceding 37 in the bargain. Nabi went for as miserly as 16 runs in his six to get the better of Malan and Curran. Farooqi and Naveen shared one wicket each. This victory was a testimony of sorts to the efforts of Nabi and Rahmat Shah who were playing their 150th and 100th ODIs respectively. Afghanistan is going to face New Zealand next in Chennai which will again be an acid test against the most inform team of this tournament.