(Credit X)
Afghanistan is set to make their debut in a World Cup semi-final when they face South Africa in Trinidad on June 27.
Earlier in the tournament, Afghanistan reached the Super 8s for the first time, showcasing their prowess as giant killers by defeating teams like New Zealand and Australia.
Throughout the World Cup, Afghanistan has displayed a clear strategy: they perform better when batting first, often securing victories when their openers, such as Rahmanullah Gurbaz (281 runs) and Ibrahim Zadran (229 runs), have made significant contributions. Both players rank among the top three run-scorers in the tournament thus far.
In his analysis leading up to the semi-final, Aakash Chopra pointed out a significant issue within Afghanistan’s batting lineup.
“Afghanistan have a good team that has been playing with great passion. Their bowling is excellent and that’s where they will try to catch South Africa. They remain in low-scoring, 120 to 140-run, matches. In batting, you feel the gap has widened on a flat pitch. They come closer when it’s not a flat pitch,” he said.
“However, they are overly dependent on their openers. If Gurbaz and Zadran do well, this team is able to score runs with confidence. However, they collapse if their openers don’t do well. Gulbadin Naib has played one knock down the order. No one else has scored runs. They have moved players up and down the order and in and out of the team but the runs haven’t come,” Chopra added further.
Aakash Chopra said Batting Is A Concern For Afghanistan
He added that Afghanistan’s openers might face challenges against South Africa’s new-ball bowlers, potentially resulting in a total that falls short of challenging the Proteas.
“So batting is a concern, how they will negotiate the fast bowling, especially the new ball. If they become 20/2, they might be restricted to 110-115 once again. They have won all low-scoring games but they might find themselves on the wrong side of the result in this low-scoring game because this pitch might not be that much to their liking,” he elaborated.
The former Indian opener expressed confidence in Afghanistan’s new-ball bowlers. Fazalhaq Farooqi has claimed 16 wickets, while Naveen-Ul-Haq has taken 13 wickets in the tournament so far.
“However, what works in their favor – bowling. Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq are at the top of their game suddenly. This World Cup has been in their names. Then come Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad. Gulbadin Naib does his job and they have Mohammad Nabi. So this team has an incredible bowling lineup,” he observed.
Chopra wrapped up by suggesting that Rashid Khan and Afghanistan’s resilience could inject excitement into the game, noting that the backing of Afghanistan fans would provide significant morale for the team.
“They have one more thing. They don’t get scared. They are fighters. They say this is just a World Cup game, they have battled life. When such a team doesn’t have anything to lose, they have the entire world to gain. They also know the Afghanistan public doesn’t get much to be happy about and if they do well, they will become very happy. So there is a larger purpose to play,” Chopra concluded saying.
