Clueless England Fail Afghan Test As Aussies Dump Lankans

Cricket A Great Leveller

England have redefined the way Cricket is played in the last couple of years. They have built a reputation of being one of the most fearsome sides in the world and the fact that they are  ODI and T20 World Champions has further corroborated their position. But Cricket, like life,  is a great leveller and one cannot take anything for granted, even if it comes to one’s own skill and talent. And it would be fair to say that England and also Australia have found this out bitterly in the ongoing World  Cup.

The Odds Looked Good For England, But……

Delhi, with a placid wicket and short boundaries was exactly what England were looking for to consolidate their position in the tournament, when they faced a not-so-good-looking Afghanistan team, still searching for their first win. The odds were looking good as England won the toss too, but very surprisingly opted to field and in my opinion threw away the advantage right at the start. It was not going to be England’s day I felt, and so it unfolded.

Gurbaz Heroics 

Rahamanullah Gurbaz is an exciting talent. Watching the 21-year-old bat when he is on song,  is pure delight. His range of shots, the power and flamboyance and the unbridled bravado make him a real crowd-puller. To the misfortune of England, the young Afghan was on song and punished the English bowlers with disdain. He was particularly severe on Chris Woakes ( a very fine bowler but struggling a bit ) and Sam Curran, the gentle seam bowler. In Indian conditions, with hardly any swing around, Curran with his soft pace is easy meat and Gurbaz proved it so. In Ibrahim Zadran ( who is also 21 ), Gurbaz has an excellent opening partner and both compliment each other quite well. A 100-plus partnership ensued and England were already on the back foot.

England Pull it Back..But only Just

A brilliant Adil Rashid got England back into the match and Gurbaz’s unfortunate runout, when he looked set for a century, gave England a clear foothold in the match. Afghan progress was further arrested as England resorted to spin on a slowish track. Joe Root and Liam Livingstone bowled effectively and brought the match on an even keel. However, the Afghans kept fighting. Ikram Alikhil held the innings together with Mujeeb and Rashid Khan adding some invaluable runs to push Afghanistan to a fighting 284 runs. 

England Caught Napping

The target was a tricky one on a track which was holding up, but for England’s mighty batting line-up, it was very much gettable. However, the Afghans unleashed themselves like warriors over the slightly jittery-looking English batters. Fazal Farooqi with his indippers was too good for Bairstow as he perished early. The inform Dawid Malan was accounted for by Nabi and before England could realise their top order was gone. Afghan spinners were brilliant and bowled a great nagging length. England were struggling. Joe Root’s wicket from Mujeeb was a mighty blow and though Harry Brook continued to wage a lone battle, the batters on the other end continued to fall. 

Brilliant Afghan Bowlers Seal the Deal

Naveen ul Haq produced a great delivery to knock over Jos Buttlers’s middle stump. The inswinger caught Buttler completely by surprise as he reached out to play for the outswinger. The ball darted in instead and castled him. England kept faltering. Their batters were just unable to play quality spin bowling and one by one, soon they perished and Afghanistan completed an extremely deserving 69-run win over the defending Champions. The brave won and the jittery succumbed. England are in trouble now and would have to play out of their skins to reach the Semi-Finals.

Australia  Win 

Adam Zampa shines for Australia

At Lucknow, Australia met Sri Lanka in another must-win game for both teams ( having lost both their earlier games). The pitch surely suited the Lankans. They made a great start too, but much like Pakistan the other day, crashed from a strong position to a hapless one in a matter of a few overs. From 125 for no loss, they fell miserably to 209 all out. Adam Zampa for Australia eventually came good snaring 4 and put the Aussies in a strong position at the break.  Australia lost two early wickets of Warner ( again to a controversial DRS decision ) and of Smith, but Mitch Marsh, Labuschagne and Josh Inglis ( who seems to have cemented his place as the keeper in lieu of Alex Carey ) ensured an easy victory for Australia. 

Lankans Staring Down the Barrel

Sri Lanka with three losses have pushed themselves into a deep abyss. Their bowling, barring Madushanka, is looking woefully out of sorts and if the batting doesn’t fire, as it did not against Australia, then winning games for them would be a  mountain to climb. Australia winning their first game would give them confidence,  thus making their next match against Pakistan, at Bangalore, a very interesting one.

The World Cup is warming up and I am sure a lot many twists and turns would be unearthed. South Africa are taking on Netherlands today and would be looking to set the record straight ( remember Netherlands beating then in the T20 World Cup, not so long ago ). 

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Featured Image : Rahamanullah Gurbaz, leading Afghans to victory