Posts Tagged ‘Afghanistan’
Afghanistan’s fairytale continues as Bangladesh succumb to an embarrassing home defeat
Posted on: September 11, 2019
- In: Afghanistan | Cricket and Sports | India | Teams | Test | test cricket | Test match | Tests
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Afghanistan are the newbies of Test cricket. They were given Test status along with Ireland just over a year ago but the strides they have made so far has been amazing. They had a horror start against India who are the best side in the world but the team under Rashid Khan have showed that they are quick learners. They beat Ireland in their only second game and now they have taken a giant leap by beating Bangladesh away from home.
This is a huge achievement considering how difficult Bangladesh has been for touring sides over the years. Captain Rashid Khan led from the front with an amazing display of bowling taking 11 wickets in the game. The batting was held together by Asghar Afghan who scored fifties in both innings. The batters showed lots of application contrary to their display against India where they looked lost. The batting had purpose and on a wicket aiding spin they showed great skill and temperament.
The same cannot be said of the host batters. Bangladesh showed no application or patience on a wicket which required a loads of them. The Bangladesh batters seemed in a hurry against an attack which was tailor made for the condition on offer. The pitch was probably godsend for Afghanistan as they have world class spinners in their ranks. The visitors made full use of thr conditions and bowled Bangladesh out in the both the innings to seal a comfortable 224 run victory in the end.
The result looked little difficult to achieve, not because of the Bangladesh batters but because of the weather which almost threatened to wash out the final day but thankfully for Afghanistan they got enough overs to achieve another historic win. They have now 2 wins in 3 Tests which is a great achievement for a budding Test nation. They will for sure face tougher challenges in the future but again they have shown an ability to adapt and learn. This win also was a great send off for the iconic Mohammad Nabi who decided to hang his boots in this format.
For Bangladesh though this is a huge step down. They had a good hold on the home Tests for the last few years and by this defeat their vulnerability in familiar conditions showed as well. The strategy of going for a spin track with all spinners in their XI, fully knowing that the opposition has world class spinners was a poor one. Their batters who have lots of experience in this format once again showed lack of discipline and will to fight it out when things got tough. The Bangladesh camp will want to take a hard look at themselves as this is not the first time their batters have thrown it away when things aren’t going their way.
For Afghanistan though this is a huge boost and something which will help other teams take notice. They deserve to get many more chances and this team under Rashid Khan looks like they will learn and improve fast.
Scores:
Afghanistan 342 (Rahmat Shah 102, Taijul 4/116) & 260 (Ibrahim Zadran 87, Shakib 3/58) beat Bangladesh 205 (Mominul 52, Rashid Khan 5/55) & 173 (Shakib 44, Rashid Khan 6/49) by 224 runs
- In: Cricket and Sports | England | India | IPL | IPL 2019 | ODI | Pakistan | World Cup 2015 | World cup 2019 | World T20
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Here is the part two of the continued review of India’s world cup opponents and how India have fared against them since the last World Cup. The first part saw the reviews of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Let’s dive into the next 3.
Considering the recent track record India does hold the edge over Pakistan when they take them on at the Old Trafford on the 16th.
June 16, 2019 – India vs Pakistan, Old Trafford, Manchester
This is a biggie and the most anticipated clash in this World Cup. The fact that India & Pakistan do not play that often makes these encounters more special. Both teams have had a poor run into the tournament. Even though India are the number 2 side in the world, they did enter the tournament with 3 straight losses. They also lost the game against New Zealand in the warm up encounter as well. Pakistan have had it worse over the past year or so and are currently in 11 match losing streak. Even though past stats and form does not factor into India-Pakistan games, the fact is that India does hold a slight edge over their arch rivals. To top that India have never lost to Pakistan in a World Cup encounter in their history. In the last 4 years, despite that crushing loss in the Champions Trophy finals, India have a 3-1 advantage over Pakistan.
Verdict: Even though form and past results don’t matter in this historic match up, India does have a slight edge over their arch rivals and are expected to win this encounter.
June 22 – India vs Afghanistan, The Rose Bown, Southampton
Technically when you look at this match up you should back India to comfortably put it past Afghanistan but reality is far from it. Afghanistan have just beaten Pakistan in their warm up game leading up to the tournament and the only game they have played against India over the last 4 years or so has resulted in a tie in Sharjah. Afghanistan are a much improved team and they are not a push over by any imagination. The Rose Bowl will provide great help for their spin attack and their batters will allow the pitch at Southampton. For India though this might end up being a crucial game and all said and done they are still expected to beat Afghanistan in this encounter.
Verdict: This will not be an easy game and Afghanistan is more than capable of toppling their senior Asian gurus. India though with the experience and skill in major tournament like the World Cup should be able to get it past the newbies though while it might be a banana peel game as well.
June 27 – West Indies vs India, Old Trafford, Manchester
This is yet another game which can be tricky for team India. Even though India have a 6-2 win-loss record against the Island nation, the latter have always been a tough opponent for India in the past. The West Indies team have been able to beat India in crucial games especially in T20Is recently. West Indies have their stars return to their side, Chris Gayle is back and looks in tremendous form. Andre Russell who had an amazing IPL is back in the XI as well for them. Their bowling attack with has some good pacers is something which can trouble Indian batters if the conditions are right. This will be an amazing game against an experienced team like India and a team who can be unpredictable in the way they play on a given day.
Verdict: Once again when you look at the strengths of the team you would expect India to easily go past West Indies, this will be yet another tough game for India. India in all probability should be able to put it past West Indies but again it is not going to be easy.
That ends part two of this series and with just 3 games to go, past 3 will cover the rest of the opponents. As we have seen this format of the tournament is thankless and there are no easy games. The team which sticks to their guns and does not give into the pressure will be the ones who will triumph and reach the final four.
- In: Afghanistan | Country | Cricket | Cricket and Sports | England | India | Ireland | Teams | Test | test cricket | Test match | Tests
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The ICC has announced that Afghanistan and Ireland are now full member nations, which means that they now get Test status.
It is exciting and wonderful news for the hard working cricketers from both the nations who probably dreamt of this day since they started playing cricket.
Even though this is a great news, it also brings about the question if these two nations will be able to get enough competitive games.
The team before these two countries to get Test status was Bangladesh. Bangladesh for a long time struggled to get opportunities to play against the top nations especially away from home.
Bangladesh in their young 17-year career have played just 47 tests away from home, and the majority of their games have been against Sri Lanka against who they have been able to play regularly over the last 17 years.
They only played their first test in India just recently after 17 years of being granted the Test status. They have never played Pakistan in UAE and haven’t toured Australia since 2003.
Out of the 47 Tests 32 have come against four nations which are Sri Lanka, New Zealand, West Indies and Zimbabwe. The rest of the five teams in total have invited Bangladesh only for a grand total of 15 games in 17 years. That does not even equate to even one Test a year.
This is something which the ICC has to guard against. Bangladesh still does not get enough games against the top 5 nations. They haven’t played a game in England since 2010 and in South Africa since 2008. Those are pretty shocking numbers to be honest. When the world is calling Bangladesh a mediocre team in Tests, the stats above tells us why.
Both these teams would be incredibly excited at the prospect of competing against the top nations and it would be a disappointment if they have to resort to just playing with each other all the time.
The individual cricketing boards also have a part to play in this induction. Countries like India, England, Pakistan and Australia need to try and squeeze in series against these two teams regularly, even it is just for a game or two.
I understand that initially there might be lots of one sided games but they will improve with time and with enough opportunities against top teams.
The addition of Bangladesh and now Afghanistan and Ireland is wonderful for cricket in general and sends out a great message for other associate nations.
The rapid strides that Afghanistan has taken will give great confidence to other associate nations to take their cricket seriously.
This is a great day for cricket but again steps have to be taken that these teams are engaged effectively to keep the interest alive in their respective countries.
Hopefully the ICC and the rest of the countries realise that and do their part in development of cricket in these two countries.
Welcome Afghanistan and Ireland, and I hope you have a wonderful time playing Test cricket.
Read my original article at The Roar
How good is Rashid Khan?
Posted on: June 14, 2017
- In: Afghanistan | Country | Cricket and Sports | cricket world cup | IPL | ODI | ODI | Teams | Twenty20
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While they are not yet there in terms of constantly troubling the top teams, Afghanistan have gained respect in one-day cricketing circles with their enthusiasm and passion.
Afghanistan also have produced some good cricketers in the recent times, with the latest addition to that impressive list being Rashid Khan, a young leg spinner with immense talent.
In his short career, Khan has become an integral part of Afghanistan side with some mind-boggling numbers. While the top eight nations are battling for the Champions Trophy, Afghanistan are taking on the West Indies, and in the first ODI between the nations, Khan claimed 7/18 in a crushing win for his side.
The West Indies batsmen were clueless and struggled to pick his variation in an abject capitulation in the first ODI. Khan also bowled brilliantly in the second ODI, which his side lost, to pick up three more Windies wickets.
At just 18 years of age, Khan has played 28 ODI games, claiming 63 wickets, with an amazing average of 14.74. These numbers may be skewed due to lack of games with the top nations, but are still remarkable.
Khan is an extremely accurate spinner with a great googly to boot.
Playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL this season, Khan’s 17 wickets was second only to Bhuvneshwar Kumar for their club.
Afghanistan, as a cricketing nation, is still in its infancy, but having stars like Rashid Khan and Mohammed Nabi will surely help them to grow.
The series against West Indies might not get much media attention, but it’s an important series for Afghanistan, as they now stand a chance to actually win a series against a Test-playing nation.
Khan is one of the best leg spinners in world cricket at the moment, and he surely can become the best with more exposure and games against top cricketing nations.
What do other cricket fans think of this bowling? How good is he compared to other spinners around the world?
Link to my original article
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