Given the right conditions, Afghanistan’s spin attack can trouble any batting line-up in the world, says their captain Gulbadin Naib, as they seek to carry the spirit they showed in defeat against India into Monday’s meeting with Bangladesh at the Hampshire Bowl.
After a series of heavy defeats in their opening encounters of the World Cup, Afghanistan finally found the fighting spirit that had carried them back from the brink in the qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe last year, to run India excruciatingly close in a low-scoring thriller on Saturday.
And, having limited India’s hugely vaunted batting line-up to a below-par total of 224 for 8, Gulbadin is confident that his bowlers will relish the use of the same spin-friendly track as they seek to extend their impressive head-to-head record against Bangladesh – a side whom they’ve beaten three times out of eight in ODIs, including a thumping 136-run win in their penultimate meeting in the Asia Cup in September.
“We’ve played already on this wicket, but a cricket game is dependent on the present,” said Gulbadin. “[It’s about] how you play, how the conditions are, especially the English conditions. We didn’t know about the weather [before the tournament], but yesterday was a good day for us, a sunny day. We lost the game but we did a lot of things good.”
But success in cricket is also about confidence, which is something that Afghanistan ought to have in abundance now, having finally put to one side the selection and fitness controversies that have dogged their campaign. Against India they were back to being that tenacious band of raw talents who have the ability to unsettle the very best in the world. That injection of belief could help to unlock their potential for the final three matches of their campaign.
“We will be trying to do more against Bangladesh,” said Gulbadin. “They are doing really well, especially in their batting partnerships. They chased 340 [322] against West Indies, which is one of the best performances by a Bangladesh side, so praise goes to them, but we are doing better and better every day which is a good sign for Afghanistan.”
If Afghanistan are to prevail against Bangladesh, and secure the win against a fellow Test nation that most observers believed was well within their grasp in this tournament, then they are sure to lean heavily once again on their most potent spin pairing, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan – both for the allround talents that they have been able to hone with their spells in overseas leagues including the IPL, but also for the intel that they can provide on Bangladesh’s most in-form matchwinner, Shakib Al Hasan.
Shakib comes into the contest in the form of his life. With 425 runs at 106.25 in his first five matches, he is vying with the likes of Joe Root, Kane Williamson and David Warner for the accolade of the tournament’s leading run-scorer – but unlike those players, he is also a pivotal performer with the ball, having picked off five wickets to date, including two key scalps in the win over West Indies at Taunton.
His experience of playing alongside Nabi and Rashid at Sunrisers Hyderabad will no doubt be a factor in how he takes on their bowling on Monday, but that insight cuts both ways, with both players more intimately acquainted with Shakib’s strengths and weaknesses than most opponents that he has thus far encountered.
“How Shakib is doing for his team, I think it’s tremendous,” said Gulbadin. “No one can say for anyone that you can stop him or them [the team as a whole]. It depends on the day. Tomorrow is a new day, it is a fresh day.
“Shakib hasn’t just been playing good cricket here, he’s also been playing a lot of [good] stuff in the back couple of years. So he’s one of the best players of Bangladesh.
“Also, he’s playing together with Nabi and Rashid in franchise cricket. He is the best. So it depends on the day. So if tomorrow is his day, so maybe he will play good cricket. So if [it is our day], maybe it’s very difficult for anyone, not only Shakib.”
Despite their current buoyancy, Afghanistan are under no illusions about the scale of their challenge, against one of the most impressive teams in this year’s tournament – a side that ran Australia and New Zealand incredibly close in their earlier encounters, and might be a better bet for a semi-final spot had it not been for an untimely wash-out against Sri Lanka.
“I’m really impressed with the side of Bangladesh, how they’re playing, how they start the tournament,” said Gulbadin. “So I think now we cannot take it easy with Bangladesh. It’s a good side. They proved themselves in this stage.
“But not only Bangladesh, any team [can be beaten],” he added. “Like yesterday you saw it against India – the best side, the best batting attack all over the world. But our spinners are one of the best spin attacks in the world. So if the wicket helps our spinners, maybe it’s very difficult for everyone, not only Bangladesh.”
In spite of their early difficulties, on and off the field, Gulbadin insisted that the spirit within the side remained unbroken, and if anything their resolve to finish the tournament on a high had been stiffened by the struggles they had encountered in earlier games.
“Everyone is just trying to do well, especially the senior players,” he said. “They have pressure, but every tournament together we’re discussing the small, small things. What’s wrong? What do we want to do where we can do better? So then we’re sitting with everyone and just discussing the issues. I think we’re doing well the last two, three games.
“Inshallah, everyone wants to do well for their country and do their best for their country. Nobody wants to do bad or wrong anything. Everyone is playing for our country, they are trying to do well for the country and for the people.
“I know, inshallah, tomorrow is a new day, and it depends on the day. So we can try to do well and the right thing, so the last two games we did a lot of things good. So Inshallah, we can see tomorrow, Inshallah.”
Source: ESPN Crickinfo