Afghanistan players and support staff running in to join their teammates from the sidelines after an awe-inspiring victory has been a common sight in ICC events for the last few years.
Afghanistan’s knack of beating fancied sides at major ICC events has been breathtaking — they eased past England and Pakistan in the 2023 World Cup and a year later, they defeated New Zealand and Australia on their way to the T20 World Cup semi-finals.
Wednesday’s victory knocked England out of the Champions Trophy, putting Afghanistan firmly in the reckoning for a semi-final spot.
The equation is simple — they need to win against Australia in Lahore on Friday. Australia qualify if they win or if rain washes out the game. In case of a washout, Afghanistan would go to three points and will need England to beat South Africa by a big margin to advance.
Head coach Jonathan Trott deserves the bulk of the credit for their success story. His planning and work ethics have been meticulous. The ploy to include a consultant or a mentor from the host country in their support staff has fetched them rich rewards.
They had Ajay Jadeja for the 2023 World Cup and West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo as their bowling consultant for the 2024 T20 World Cup, before relying on Younis Khan as the mentor for the ongoing Champions Trophy.
Afghanistan narrowly missed the semi-finals in the 2023 World Cup after finishing with four victories in the league stage. Had they managed to win against Australia in Mumbai after reducing them to 91/7, they could have put themselves in a better position. It was only because of a limping Glenn Maxwell’s Herculean 201 not out that Australia scraped through.
The memories of the Wankhede may be fresh in their minds, but captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said their plans were not just focused on their bete noire Maxwell.
“You think we will come only to play with Maxwell? Do you think it will be like that? We have planned for the entire Australian team,” Shahidi said at the pre-match media conference on Thursday.
Afghanistan will enter the match less than 48 hours after the eight-run victory over England, made possible because of Ibrahim Zadran’s magnificent 177.
“We will try to play a positive game — just like we defeated England, we hope to beat Australia as well,” Shahidi said.
The two matches so far in Lahore have seen 300-plus scores in all four innings. Pacer Azmatullah Omarzai was Afghanistan’s match-winner on Wednesday with 5/58, but there was enough assistance for the spinners. If Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad get assistance from the wicket, it could spell doom for Australia.
Rain, however, could spoil the party though the forecast is better from the late afternoon onwards. Drainage in most Pakistan grounds has been an issue.