The Winds of Change
They skittled out the defending World Champions and brushed aside two former Champions with staggering ease. The audacious Pashtuns are none to buckle down or get intimidated by any team and are displaying their own brand of cricket in the World Cup. There is no doubt that the winds blowing from the Hindu Kush are orchestrating a lasting change in the cricketing landscape of the World.
Panic No More
A few weeks ago I had written a post on Afghanistan’s spirited chase to knock out Sri Lanka from the Asia Cup. Had it not been for a terrible piece of misinformation, the Afghans had won the game and qualified to the next stage. They were brave in their batting and chased with great intensity, but it was not to be. May be they had panicked a bit in the end. Losing close matches and panicking in crucial moments has been very carefully handled by the support staff in the Afghan Camp and their work is paying rich dividends at the World Cup.
Trott : Calm As A Monk
Jonathan Trott, the Head Coach Of Afghanistan has been a revelation. A fine player and a terrific middle order batsman, Trott played 52 Test matches for England. He was known for his technique and temperament and played some vital knocks. The way Afghanistan successfully chased against Pakistan and Sri Lanka is testimony to the hard work put in by Trott. The calm and collected batting was a big surprise to me. The Afghans never gave it away. They hardly played a rash shot. The batters took responsibility and ensured that the opposition bowlers toiled for their wicket.
The Afghan Batting Is Coming of Age
The Afghans have always been a brave team and have played fearlessly, but their stoic resistance and stone walling oppositions is a new dimension being witnessed in their game and also displays their determination to do well on the big stage. Their quality spin attack has been the matter of discussion but the coming of age of their batters makes them that more potent. I have been most impressed by Rehmat Shah. He looks technically correct, plays fluently, revels in both the waiting game and attack and has a tremendous temperament. With batsmen like Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, captain Hashmat Shahidi and Azmat Omarzai to play around Rehmat Shah, the Afghan batting is suddenly looking much much stronger.
A Crucial Encounter Coming Up
Afghanistan play Netherlands tomorrow in Lucknow, and a win here will make them one of the favourites for a semi-final qualification. The Afghans are writing their own script this World Cup, an unbridled fable, a story for the ages.
And while I write this post, India has decimated Sri Lanka at the Wankhede…once again.
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