Azmat Omarzai became the first Afghan batter to orchestrate a half century in this edition of the world cup. He garnered a 121 run partnership with skipper Hashmatullah to resurrect the innings from 63/3. In the process Shahidi also brought up his first fifty of the world cup. In spite of these two fighting knocks, Afghanistan could only manage 272/8 on a track that was conducive for 350 or more on a belter of a batting track.
Top order failed to capitalize on starts
Earlier winning the toss Hashmat chose to bat on a flat deck to set up a par total & put pressure on India. But all the three top order bats couldn’t capitalize on good starts. Things were looking pretty dismal once again after their flop show against Bangladesh. Like I said in my last write up that on present form Azmat looks to be the best bet at 5 & the think tank should seriously consider executing this plan. Echoing the voice, Azmat was sent at five to rebuild the innings along with Shahidi.
A 121 run stand between Shahidi & Azmat bails the team out
All the Indian bowlers were hitting the right lengths & lines & it was a difficult proposition to play an attacking game knowing nothing much was left below the order. However, the partnership provided the much needed platform to post something reasonable for the bowlers. Omarzai took some time to settle down before slowly launching a measured counter attack. With the help of four sixes & two boundaries, Azmat paced his innings to perfection. Now that he is looking well settled in the middle order, needs to sharpen his bowling skills to add value to the pace brigade.
Time to reconsider Najib’s role in the team
Najibullah’s painful run of form continued. He disappointed us once again with his non existent footwork & mindset. He is not doing any justice to his role as a finisher for almost a year. Besides, his confidence is not taking him anywhere. The think tank must ponder on using someone else at his place. There are two options available. Either think of using Riaz in the middle order or draft Naib at his place as replacement.
Farooqi & Mujeeb fails to provide breakthroughs
Farooqi is not performing up to the mark. He is lacking discipline. He bowls some really good ones followed by an array of ill directed loose balls. Due to this, the pressure gets released and the opposition is quickly off their feet. Similarly Mujeeb’s power play bowling is not accurate enough to put brakes on the scoring. If we look back at his last 20 ODI bowling innings, has only taken 6 wickets in the power play which is an indication enough about his ineffectiveness.
Naveen’s rift with Kohli seem to end on a happy note
Although Naveen went wicketless but he was the best in terms of economy. His duel with Kohli was the most anticipated battle last night. But putting every controversy to rest, both seemed to patch up at the end by shaking their hands off. The role of Hamid Hassan as a bowling coach is under the scanner. In his tenure as a mentor, the fast bowling unit has lost their radar. Only Naveen is able to handle the pressure quite well due to the experience he has gained playing all over the world. Afghanistan really needs an experienced & qualified bowling mind over Hamid as the latter still has got to learn a lot in this job.
A classic hitman show puts Afghanistan’s fight at bay
Besides the afghan perspective, it was an exclusive ‘hitman’ show personified with tremendous aggression, style & class. Rohit Sharma’s century was a treat to watch. Not only did he not spare a single loose ball but also converted some good ones into a disaster. His opening partnership with Ishan Kishan sealed the deal in India’s favor much earlier than one might have expected. Rashid however got the better of these two at the end but this was too little too late.
Fast bowlers need to take a cue from Bumrah
Bumrah earlier gave a masterclass session to the Afghans by picking up a 4-fer by conceding less than 4 runs an over. He showed the teasing lengths & lines that a fast bowler must be hitting consistently on such a good batting track. England is loading next against Afghanistan on 15th at the same venue. Their fast bowlers are definitely going to pose a tough challenge for the batters. Knowing that Afghanistan have a weakness against short balls, they must be ready with a strategy to counter the hostile pace from the Barmy Army.