Afghanistan Asia Cup Review: Best team of tournament after India?
Afghanistan has came into the tournament with a gameplan and apart from the last game against India, thier plan was not disrupted by any team.
Hashmatullah Shahidi is the top scorer for Afghanistan in Asia Cup 2018
Afghanistan has came into the tournament with a gameplan and apart from the last game against India, their plan was not disrupted by any team. Their plan was also not something out of the ordinary. Mujeeb and Rashid are 2 of the best spinners on the planet currently while Nabi is a very experienced campaigner. Fast bowlers are their apparent weakness and they operated within their limitations. Mujeeb would open the bowling with Aftab Alam before the pair of Naib and Nabi would be introduced. Both pacers's jobs was to contain batsmen with right line and lengths, Mujeeb will go for wickets with his drift and turn, while Nabi's deceptive flight and tight lines were also lethal. All these bowlers would combine to keep pressure on opposition and the star spinner Rashid Khan would never be introduced before 20th over, from where he could control the game. Oppostion batsmen would need to face the toughest prospect in the most crunch situations.
While the same bowling plan is being executed since the World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe this year (and executed almost to perfection everytime), their batting planning and execution was far more mature then what is seen on previous occasions. They wanted to bat first everytime they won the toss since the wickets are expected to slow down later in the match. And they did set thier target to be around 250-260 which they believe their bowling unit will be able to defend. 2 openers were trying to compliment each other with Shahzad trying to pounch on every opportunity and Ishanhullah Janat was supposed to play cautiously. Their no 3 and 4 (Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi) are thier most capable batsmen technique-wise. Their job was to consolidate in middle overs. From no 5 to no 8, most experienced batsmen who can up the ante ( Captain Ashgar Afghan, thier most decorated player Mohhamad Nabi, utility man Shenwari). They tried their best to never letting the situation go in favor of other team while batting first. Like they never went 100 for 4 or 150 of 7. If wickets were falling, the final assault was delayed but they made sure they reached at least 240 runs everytime.
Rashid Khan remains Afghanistan's best bowler
The only time their strategy was dislodged was against India in their final game of the tournament when despite a good start they were at 82 for 4, lost 4 wickets in succession and everyone apart from Shahzad look lost. Although they still reached 252 om the end with some sensible and risk free batting from Nabi in the end. Similarly while bowling, Rashid had to introduced in 15th overs itself. This was the first occasion when he was introduced before 19th over in the tournament. And he would have bowled far earlier only if was not of the field for first 1 overs of Indian inning and therefore have to subsequently wait for another 7 overs to become eligible to bowl. For the first time in the series, Afghanistan were forced to change their strategy, which they were not forced to do in their loss matches also.
The credit should be given where it is due. Afghanistan's progression has been brilliant in last few years but since Phil Simmons has become their coach, they have become more solid. He has molded the team's strategy to extract the best out of every player, asked them to be more responsible and put the onus on them. All the players in the team comes from dire circumstances from a war ridden country. Such circumstances can make you mentally strong. This strength with the amalgamation of hunger for win, the available talent and a solid strategy has resulted in such heart warming performances. The only thing lacking in the team is the experience of crunch situations, and having played 3 close matches this tournament will do them a world of good.
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