4 reasons why India failed to win against Afghanistan

The Asia Cup 2018 has been the most interesting one over the years. India is already at the top and has a very good opportunity to regroup after a tie against Afghanistan. That match was theirs for the taking and they threw it away. One can also say that they let it slip away from their hands.

Nothing to take away from Afghanistan though. It was a historic moment for them. They fought and they fought hard to draw against a formidable opposition. They were never going to win that match and a loss looked inevitable because of the way India was going about chasing the target. Afghanistan did get a moral victory against India.

Let's have a look at the reasons why India-Afghanistan ended in a tie:

A closely contested game of cricket.

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#1 Key players rested

New

team not so good?

India was heading into this match with their key players rested. Out of the playing eleven, 4 players hadn't played a single match in the tournament and it was evident that they lacked match practice.

Their key bowlers in Bhuvaneshwar, Bumrah and Chahal were rested and they lacked the cutting edge in the death overs. Sidharth Kaul was expensive too.

Deepak Chahar was brought in to make merry with the new ball but he went with an economy of over 9 in the 4 overs that he got to bowl. Manish Pandey in the middle order did get a start but soon fell prey to the climbing pressure and this showed lack of match practice. This is not something that you see with the regular playing eleven.

#2 KL Rahul's bizarre review decision

Perhaps the turning point of the match. KL reviewed a decision that looked absolutely plumb and ended up losing the only review in the process. Later, Dhoni was given out in a wrong decision as the ball was sliding down the leg. No reviews were left and he had to walk off when the situation was ripe for him to finish the game off.

The game-changing moment, all because of one rash decision.

#3 Inability to stop Ahmed Shahzad early on the innings

Shahzad played a blinder.

One thing that we often see with Mohammad Shahzad is that if he gets out, he gets out early. On the other hand, if he does get going, he plays a long innings and makes it count. Shahzad has a weakness against spinners and India missed a trick by not introducing Kuldeep early on.

Once he got his eye in, it was already too late to bring in Kuldeep. The damage had been done. He played a destructive knock which ensured Afghanistan reaching a respectable total.

#4 Leaking runs in the death overs

Nabi played a pivotal role in Afghanistan's victory.

One thing that India have been consistent in is the death bowling. They haven't leaked runs and have often restricted the opposition. Although the number of runs that they conceded wasn't too much but considering that the lower middle order of Afghanistan did the damage, it's a lot.

Although this match is of little significance, it's crucial keeping the 2019 mega-event in mind.

This shows that an injury-ridden or a team India without it's 3-4 key players can fall prey to Afghanistan. The Indian team management soon needs to figure out a way around this to find a performing bench team.