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Afghanistan nearly pulled off another upset the other night against Pakistan, if their defeat over giant cricketing nations can be called an upset anymore, given their massive rise in international cricket over the last few years. Afghanistan has reached great heights in limited overs format and have shown that they can pose a serious threat to the top teams of world cricket
After defeating Sri Lanka and Bangladesh consecutively in their group games, Afghanistan faced Pakistan in their first Super four match, a rising rivalry in international cricket. Although they lost the game by 3 wickets in the final over, credit to some outstanding finishing by Shoaib Malik, there were a lot of positives to be taken from the game.
Provided that Afghanistan can play the same brand of cricket and overcome the threats Bangladesh and India pose in the next super four games, they can make their way towards their first ever Asia Cup final. Here are a few positives for Afghanistan going into the tournament.
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#1 The top-order
Afghanistan is well known for their heavy spin bowling and can win a game on their own. But come this Asia cup, their batting has improved a lot and credit goes to their top order. While it has been that type of tournament where teams are having difficulty crossing 200, Afghanistan has posted 240+ in all their three games.
The openers Mohammad Shahzad and Ihsanullah have laid the foundation, although each not being able to pass 50 in any of those games. Hashmatullah Shahidi has been the star with the bat scoring 192 runs in three games at a staggering average of 96. Rahmat Shah and Asghar Afghan each have one fifty in the series and have chipped away with valuable runs for the team. The top five looking stronger than ever, Afghanistan is a force to reckon with going forward in this Asia Cup.
#2 Bowling management
Barring their match against Bangladesh in the group stage which was just a mere formality with both teams already through to the super fours, Afghanistan has used only 5 bowlers to complete their full quota. Though Afghanistan has been known to be a team of all-rounders, the management of their bowlers in this Asia Cup has been quite exceptional.
With three world-class spinners in Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi in their team, they are a spin-heavy bowling department. Mujeeb opening the bowling with the pacer Aftab Alam, and Rashid alongside Nabi soaking the runs and picking wickets at regular intervals in the middle overs, any team will find it hard to get free against this excellent bowling lineup.
Afghanistan has covered their tracks in both batting and bowling departments, and have gained experience at this level for some time now. Every cricketing pundit will be hoping for the underdogs to succeed in their journey of winning this Asia cup and establish themselves as a powerhouse in world cricket.
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