Ibrahim Zadran exuberates elegance, class & temperament by scoring two simultaneous fifties. Series hangs in balance at 1-1 with so much to play in the third. On both the occasions, Afghanistan have chased the target set by the hosts.
Keeping things simple & going back to basics is the mantra
Fast bowlers have to understand that holding a tight line is key in the powerplay. One can’t really keep experimenting like a T20. Every now & then both Farooqi & Azmat missed their lines which ended up releasing the pressure. The first wicket came through a review well taken by Nabi just at the brink of first drinks break. Nissanka, who looked well set to make it big, missed a ball that held its line after pitching.
Gurbaz is a bad influence when it comes to taking reviews. His over enthusiasm isn’t the perfect indicator when it comes to helping the skipper with the right call. Noor Ahmad provided the second breakthrough by dismissing Karunaratne plumb in front of the stumps with his orthodox delivery that came into the left hand bat. However his flippers are pretty ineffective & doesn’t come good whenever he tries to execute them.
A piece of advice to Mujeeb & Omarzai
I don’t find any logic in bowling short of length balls which is really meat & drink for batters to score free runs. Azmat has got enough experience to understand this basic fallacy & course correct accordingly. Mujeeb is bowling a tad too fast these days around 100 kmph. Although he has been on the economical side of things, he must also try to execute the slower variations especially outside the power play. Nabi bowled tightly for most part of his spell apart from few lose one’s outside the leg which were punished diligently.
An important aspect like fielding cannot be overlooked
You cannot keep Farooqi in key catching positions as he is known to drop easy catches. No wonder why he dropped Mendis again at the square leg fence. But luckily it didn’t cost too much as he was dismissed in the next over. At international level, no one survives for too long without improving the fielding skills. Farooqi has to take note of it quickly.
Tactical blunder to replace Farooqi with Azmat in the penultimate over
If we look at the stats, Farooqi shares a fair bit of success against Hasaranga who was on strike in the penultimate over. Therefore to replace him with Azmat has to be considered as a tactical blunder. Hashmat didn’t pay attention to the matchups & a decisive 49th over which went for 20 runs tilted the game more in favor of the Lankans.
Ibrahim’s dismissal triggered a sudden collapse
A stiff target of 324 had meant that Afghanistan needed at least a steady start if not a blazing one. But the early dismissal of an out-of-form Gurbaz had pushed Ibrahim & Rahmat right on their back foot. Both of them quietly rotated the strike with occasional boundaries and kept the scoreboard rolling. Rahmat couldn’t capitalize on the start. Shanaka foxed him with an off cutter when Shah committed too much on the front foot & was adjudged lbw. Hashmat & Ibrahim consolidated nicely & stitched a partnership of 84 runs. But as they were cruising for more, Dhananjay got the better of Ibrahim which had triggered a sudden collapse & rest of the wickets went down like ninepins.
Top order is pretty much settled
Ibrahim, Hashmat & Rahmat all looked good till they were there in charge of proceedings. But the efforts made by rest was pretty disappointing. Nabi & Najib will have to exhibit better application as they’re the pillars of middle order. When the team is playing with seven batters including the allrounders, they have to take the game deep as much as possible. The batting tail is pretty inefficient & long with everyone from 8 to 11 can fight for that perfect eleventh spot. When you have so many players who don’t know how to even hold a bat, then for someone like Azmat, it makes the finishing job that much difficult.
Rashid & Abdul Rahman’s inclusion will bring more stability to the batting order
Therefore few changes are inevitable in the last game. Rashid’s likely inclusion in place of Noor will strengthen the lower order. His presence will also bolster the bowling attack. And apart from Rashid, I will be tempted to use both Abdul Rahman & Omarzai together by benching any one of Farid & Farooqi. This will create a rational balance between all the three aspects and the team could think of chasing any stiff target with a bit of sense & calculation.
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