NEWS
Follow UsNot many teams in this World Cup can boast of having more than one world-class spinner but Afghanistan remarkably have three in their ranks in the form of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi. They are also grooming a fourth in Noor Ahmad, who has already impacted two matches, having taken five wickets across the Netherlands and Pakistan clashes.
Unsurprisingly, then, so far in this World Cup, no team’s spinners have taken more wickets than Afghanistan (28). But Rashid & Co. will have their work cut out against Australia on Tuesday.
Australia are far from the best when it comes to tackling spin — their average of 39.00 against spin in this WC is fifth among ten teams — but what’s bound to make life difficult for Afghanistan’s spinners is Wankhede, which has thus far proven to be a graveyard for the slower bowlers.
After 37 matches, spinners’ average of 64.9 at Wankhede is the second-worst amongst all venues in this World Cup.
Spinners have also taken only 15% of the wickets at the venue but ahead of the all-important Australia clash, Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said that he hopes to see ‘some assistance’ from the wicket for the Afghanistan spin department, which he labeled ‘the best in the world’.
“If the pitch suits our spinners and if there is something in the pitch, so I will be very happy,” Shahidi said at the pre-match press conference on Monday (November 6th) when asked if Afghanistan’s spinners could trouble the Australian batters.
“Yeah, I will be very happy because the entire world knows that our spinning department is the best in the world - we can make any team struggle. I am hopeful that there will be something in the pitch for the spinners and I will feel happy if that happened.”
Mujeeb has taken the new ball for Afghanistan in each of their first seven matches but the Aussies have feasted against spin in the powerplay (overs 1-10) so far in this World Cup, having smashed 96 runs off 62 balls while losing no wickets. Only two spinners — Ravichandran Ashwin and Colin Ackermann — have managed to concede at under run-a-ball against the Australian batters in the powerplay.
Shahidi backed Mujeeb to do a tidy job but insisted that he has equal faith in other options, and will use his bowlers based on how the surface plays.
“Yeah, Mujeeb is a more successful bowler for us in powerplay, especially with the new ball he is doing very good. But we have more options also. Without him, our four bowlers can bowl in power play. So, we will see what's happening tomorrow. We will try to take a decision accordingly,” the Afghanistan skipper said.
This is Afghanistan’s third ODI World Cup, and in their first two appearances, they were knocked out very early in the competition. However, this time around, they find themselves right in contention for the semi-finals. As it stands, Afghanistan have their fate in their own hands and will qualify for the final four if they win their remaining two games.
What, exactly, is responsible for this upturn in fortunes that not many saw coming?
“It’s the talent that we have in the team and also the hard work we did in the recent past. And more importantly, we have belief. We have belief that we can do, we can achieve. So that's the important thing in the team,” Shahidi explained.
“At the beginning we had the belief, but for it to grow, we had to win. So, when we won against England, the belief rate became higher. It went even higher after the Pakistan win. And we are now not looking back. We are moving forward, looking forward, and we are trying our best to improve as a team, match by match.”
Shahidi also hailed the influence of head coach Jonathan Trott, who he revealed has transformed this Afghanistan side into a very efficient unit.
“I mentioned before in the press conferences about him (Trott). He is a positive person and he is disciplined. He wants us to be more disciplined as a team, on the field, off the field.
“So, he's always thinking of that and sometimes he goes hard, sometimes he asserts himself according to the situation. And he does what the team needs.”
Afghanistan have met Australia only thrice in ODIs, with Kangaroos registering comfortable wins on all three occasions. In the 2015 World Cup, Australia recorded a 275-run victory, which was then a record for the biggest margin of victory in a World Cup. But Afghanistan did run the Aussies close in the T20 World Cup last year, falling short by just four runs, chasing 169.
History is on Australia's side but Shahidi asserted that his side carries no baggage and will walk out on Tuesday with the belief that they can topple the Aussies.
“See, as I mentioned before as well, that belief is there. I also tell the team that every game we go to the ground, we have to be positive and our mindset should be to win. It doesn't matter if the opposition team is Australia, England, India, or Netherlands.
“So, our mindset should be positive and we will go to the ground with a winning mindset. So that still remains the same.
“And tomorrow we will come to the ground with a positive approach and positive mindset. And we will try our best to do and play good cricket as a side,” the Afghanistan skipper said.
