In what was termed as an utter one-sided affair for Australia, a relatively novice Afghanistan sustained the pressure in quite an impressive way. While the defeat remains a negative, there were several positives to take note of, with Najibullah Zadran’s innings being the epitome.
Aaron Finch and his men, who were put up to bowl first, couldn’t have asked for a better start as both Mohammad Shahzad and Hazratullah Zazai went for ducks. A 51-run stand between Hashmatullah Shahidi and Rahmat Shah, however, gave Afghanistan a hope on the back of which they went on to post 207 against a gigantic Australian bowling attack.
Who would have expected them to go this far? Certainly not the neutrals. But well, that’s how an underdog story shapes up.
Afghanistan’s batting effort was completely contrary to how their neighbours, Pakistan, and their fellow Asians Sri Lanka delivered earlier in the tournament. Up against the West Indies, the Men in Green saw a fallout as soon as their opening trio fell to bowling brilliance. The Lankan Lions, on the other hand, had a similar fate against New Zealand.
Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFPAfghanistan, however, stood their ground, especially against a team which was supposed to dismantle them from all fronts. Apart from Shah and their skipper Gulbadin Naib, Zadran’s 49-ball 51 underlined the depth Afghanistan’s batting contingent carries.
Zadran has been deployed at several positions over the years and has delivered with constant performances. Back during Afghanistan’s second ODI against Ireland in March, the 26-year-old came higher up than his usual number six or seven and went on to score an unbeaten 104 off 98 deliveries.
Zadran role of being a finisher – something of Hardik Pandya’s sort in the Indian side – while chasing or pushing the innings to the extreme when the top order has failed, has gathered several accolades of late. And his efforts didn’t go in vain, to say the least. Again, a defeat in the opening game is expected to crush the winning mentality they were carrying, but they can well and truly gather all the optimism from the fixture and go ahead in the tournament with their heads held high.
The only way from here is up!
