A match winning partnership of 67 runs orchestrated by Karim Janat & Afsar Zazai seals the day for Rashid & boys. Ideally after pulling out the team from a tricky situation of 48/3 in the seventh over, both shouldn’t have thrown away their wickets. Nonetheless credit must be given to them for holding on to their nerves until the fifteenth over without any further hiccups.
Afghanistan were in early trouble as openers failed
Chasing a modest total of 142, Afghanistan were in a spot of bother pretty early due to reckless shots played by Hazrat & Gurbaz once again. The opposition is now exploiting the weakness of Hazrat’s technique to full advantage and getting him out cheaply. He must go back to the drawing board to workout his flawed areas. Forcing him to play in this vulnerable state of mind where he seems clueless is not going to do any good for his confidence.
Gurbaz has to course correct his batting approach
The way Gurbaz is getting out these days trying to swipe a shorter length off his hips is not paying any dividends. On too many occasions he is gifting away his wicket with such rash shots. I am sure Jonathan is making a note of it so that Gurbaz can be told where he is often going wrong. He is an abundance of talent but without proper application, it’s a waste.
Karim Janat stamps his authority in the middle order
Now coming back to the positives, Karim Janat has been a revelation of late. The extensive international exposure that he received in the T10 league & BPL have made him a better player. Besides, he also had a great first class season both with the bat & ball. Karim truly deserves his spot on merit. Today’s fifty was again a testimony that he is running high on confidence. His big shots are coming off nicely & is able to pace his innings at a healthy strike rate.
Omarzai bowls well in the power play
As expected, Azmatullah bowled well in the powerplay. He operated in good areas with serious pace & grabbed a solitary wicket by going past the defense of Vritya. Overall, it was a good outing for him with figures of 1/16 off his three overs. But on the contrary, Farooqi lost his lines quite regularly & went wicketless. Mujeeb remained wicketless too but on the good side of economy. It was heartening to see him dish out slower variations more often which is a welcome sign. Apart from the two lbws which was like vintage Rashid Khan from the past, rest of his spell was pretty ordinary. He was erratic at times and got punished as well. Naveen too did not bother the wickets column.
Afsar blossoms after a surprise inclusion
It came as a surprise for many when Afsar got an opportunity to play but the way he batted through the innings, totally justified the inclusion. He along with Karim Janat steadied the ship & dragged the team out of discomfort. Just at the brink of his maiden T20I fifty, got out through a poor shot which he must regret in hindsight. Najibullah had a torrid time in the leagues recently and was awfully running short of confidence & runs. But after Afsar got out, he remained calm till the end & finished the game for his team. Good to go one up in the series already but it’s very important to finish the tour on a high as UAE could surprise us through their dogged approach.