Afghanistan VS Australia Review

Over the last year, this new rivalry in world cricket has created huge waves of excitement. Not long ago, Afghanistan and Australia were involved in a legendary match in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, where the Australians sneaked out a win, thanks to Glenn Maxwell's legendary innings of 201*. The underdogs came very close to upsetting the cricketing giants. Although they didn't win, the match showed the potential of this team. The ICC T20 World Cup 2024 saw the tables turn, where these underdogs upset the mighty Aussies. Australia could not get over the line as Afghanistan beat them in a major upset.

Having won the toss, Aussie skipper Mitchell Marsh chose to field first on a two paced Kingston surface. Afghan openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran took charge and stitched a very stable and unbreakable 118 run stand for the opening partnership. They might have been a bit stable, but they targeted the right bowler in Josh Hazlewood, who conceded 39 in his 4 overs. Amongst the bowlers, once again Pat Cummins was the standout, taking 3 for 28 in his 4 over spell. Spinner Adam Zampa was also excellent taking 2 wickets while conceding 28 runs in his 4 overs.

The major factor was that the Afghan batters ran hard between the wickets, taking 1s and 2s consistently, which was also made possible by the sloppy Australian fielding... a site one normally doesn't see on the field. Some vital moments and catches in the field did not go Australia's way, as it took them close to 16 overs to get the first wicket. After 116/0, they restricted Afghanistan to 148/6 thanks to the silencer Cummins, who bagged his 2nd Hattrick in a row in this World Cup. But on a difficult surface, this was always going to be a task for the chasing team.

In the run chase, things didn't go Australia's way from the start. They lost the World Cup hero, Travis Head for a duck. His opening partner, David Warner didn't do much damage as he went for 3. The introduction of Naveen Ul Haq in the powerplay worked wonders for the Afghans, as he ripped through the top order. But you never count Australia with the "Big Show" still at the crease. Maxwell was in the zone today. With other falling around him, he stood tall once again against the Afghan bowlers, getting to a splendid 50, which brought back memories of Mumbai, 2023 to the Afghanistan team. But one man made the difference this time for the underdogs, and that was Gulbadin Naib.

The pacer had a dream performance against the mighty Aussies, as he removed the dangerous Maxwell, thanks to a jaw dropping catch by Noor Ahmad. Naib took 4 wickets in 4 overs, and conceded just 20 runs. The wicket of Maxwell sealed the game for Afghanistan as the other bowlers chipped in, with Naveen taking 3 wickets, captain Rashid Khan taking one wicket, and Nabi and Omarzai sharing a wicket each, as the mighty Aussies succumbed to a 21 run defeat.

As the great MS Dhoni once said, fielding plays a huge role in a game. And today was a perfect example of that. Australian fielding was way below their natural high standards, whereas Afghanistan had fielders taking great catches for fun. They dropped catches, missed the run-out opportunities and conceded at least 15-20 runs more than what they should have. The unevenness of the surface, which provided seam movement for the pacers and spin for the spinners was an even bigger reason. The decision to bowl first on this wicket turned out to be a wrong one for captain Marsh, as batting became more difficult in the second innings. The slower deliveries were almost impossible to put away and a total Aussie collapse occurred in Kingston.

With this defeat, Afghanistan now stand a very good chance to make the semis, as they take on a hurt Bangladesh side in their final league game. For Australia, the road will no doubt be tough as they take on the mighty Indians in their last league match. India are more or less assured of a spot in the semi finals, and with their greatest rivals in this position, they would want to knock them out in the super 8s, which could see the wounds of 19th November, 2023 heal big time. Afghanistan will hope that fellow their sub-continent team, India wins, which would see them qualify for the first time in a World Cup.