Karim Janat is the revelation of this series. His breathtaking and entertaining fifty with a strike rate of just over 254 have ensured a grace saving triumph over UAE from the jaws of defeat. Equally commendable is the effort of Ibrahim Zadran who had given him steady company till the end. Along the way he also completed his second T20I fifty.
The series was virtually on the edge after Emiratis came back strong in the second encounter largely due to the heroics from Mohammad Waseem & bowlers. Throughout the series, Afghan top order wasn’t able to give good steady starts. Plus the bowling was not doing well apart from Rashid who remained at the right side of economy all the time.
Janat through his crisp power hitting snatched victory from the jaws of defeat
The tide was with the Emiratis and by the end of the 34th over, everything seemed to go against Afghanistan. Then came Janat & right from the third ball he started going hammer & tongs. He didn’t spare anyone. Be it Zahoor, Junaid, Akif, Zawar or Mustafa, everyone was harshly dealt with. These bowlers whom none of the other batters could fathom, Janat persecuted them with disdain. An innings which was decorated with five clean sixes & four effortless boundaries, Karim reached his 3rd T20I fifty in style & that too in just 21 balls. This knock will certainly be locked in the memories of many for a very long time.
Bowlers began on a poor note as Waseem continued to toy with the bowlers
After winning the toss, Rashid decided to bowl. Although Farooqi started the proceedings tightly, rest of the bowlers were all over with their lines & lengths. Waseem showcased his usual controlled aggression right from the beginning & gave another blistering start. The openers finally got dislodged in the 16th over when the scoreboard read 129. Rashid picked up two quick wickets to peg back the momentum. Another couple by Gulbadin in the 19th ensured that UAE did not cross 163 in their allotted 20.
Bowlers conceded too many although pulled back the scoring in last 4 overs
The target was still a challenging one although the trio of Rashid, Farooqi & Naib pulled back the scoring quite well in the last four overs. Ibrahim was promoted to the top along with Gurbaz. Emirati bowlers as usual were getting enough movement off the pitch to keep the batters guessing. Ibrahim survived an early scare when he was dropped by the fielder positioned at third man. Gurbaz was careful in the first four overs. He accumulated few boundaries before throwing away his wicket again. It is quite frustrating that he tries to go ariel all the time when he has the option to drive the ball along the ground.
Strategic error to put Afsar beside Ibrahim almost cost the series
However, Gulbadin who was promoted at number 3, departed without bothering the scorers. He went for a wild hoic without paying attention to the moving in swinger. While Ibrahim was still standing at the other end, Afsar Zazai was pushed to join him which was kind of a ridiculous decision considering their poor career strike rates. The runs almost stopped flowing. It was painful to watch both of them together at a snails pace. Afsar, who is not an ideal white ball batter, does not have that power game which is essentially required in T20s. Whenever he tries to go hard, looks ugly & seldom executes right.
Calm & composed Ibrahim lends support to thunderous Karim
To Afghanistan’s agony, he stayed till the 13th over when the match was literally slipping out of hands. And Afsar’s departure brought about another quick downfall in the form of Najib who mistimed a cross batted swipe only giving a simple catch to the mid on fielder. Thankfully Ibrahim was still there who then teamed up with Karim to forge an unbeaten partnership of 80 runs in just 36 balls. That was indeed a miraculous chase considering the precarious situation, the batters were in. When everything seemed lost, we discovered a new enterprising match winner in Karim who in the hindsight is playing consistently good cricket since last year’s T10 league followed by this year’s BPL.
Course correction in selections is the way forward
Few things are quite clear after the series. Hazrat has lot of flaws in his technique which needs course correction. That can only be done once he goes back, trains hard & performs in domestic cricket. Afsar Zazai is not a promising white ball prospect. Even at times, his glove work behind the stumps appeared sloppy. Till the time, Rahmanullah is around, the services of Afsar is not much required. Meanwhile Gurbaz needs to think about his approach if he wants to occupy that opening slot for long. He can’t put the team under pressure almost regularly by playing silly shots. I won’t be surprised if he is benched again in the entire IPL season.
Need to reconsider selections of some out of form regulars
The team needs at least two more technically sound specialist T20 batters in the top order. So far we can stick with the pair of Ibrahim & Gubaz in the opening slot. Najib & Karim is doing fine in the middle order. Rashid & Azmat can hold on to the lower tail. The think tank must now encourage Qais & Noor Ahmad as additional spinners. Both are good with their fielding apart from descent enough batting abilities. Qais is quite experienced while Noor is getting better with every outing through regular opportunities in global leagues. Mujeeb & Zahir are pure uni-dimentional players. If they’re out of form with the ball, they don’t add any value to the team either through their batting or fielding. If Naveen doesn’t control his line & lengths, inevitably he is going to give away too many striking opportunities to the opposition.
Special attention needed to nurture young talents
Afghanistan’s fast bowlers need an experienced bowling coach cum mentor. Someone who has enough experience of playing international cricket & is equally good with inter personal skills. Mujeeb is fading out fast & I don’t see any future of Zahir Khan in the national team. Farooqi, Azmatullah & Naveen should still be persisted with. Fareed & Gulbadin can still stay in contention. But ideally I would like to see some fresh new faces making inroads into the team. Youngsters like Sediq Atal, Riaz Hassan, Nangyalai Kharote, Allahnoor Naseri & Ijaz Ahmadzai needs to be looked after well. They’ve got serious talents & the board can’t afford to waste their natural skills. Fast bowlers like Abdul Rahman & Mohammad Gul Alizai looks promising. The baton now lies with Rashid & selectors about how they’re going to treat these buddying future prospects. Faster they realize these finer aspects, better it is for the team.
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