Afghanistan captain Hashmat Ullah Shahidi told The Indian Express on the day of the game that his team’s confidence in their ability to make it to the semifinals had increased due to a shift in thinking, therefore it was appropriate that he hit the winning boundary.
In front of mostly full stands on Saturday, the Afghans demonstrated their mettle. They have put in the hat to qualify for the semifinals following three straight victories.
Afghanistan moved ahead of Pakistan in the standings with a seven-wicket victory over the Netherlands. They are currently in fifth place with eight points.
Afghanistan appears to have been playing by the blueprint set by Steve Waugh’s 1999 World Cup-winning squad the whole campaign. When the opposition is limited to a low score by the bowlers, their batsmen can easily surpass it.
The Netherlands’ shoddy running between the wickets, which led to four run-outs, also aided Afghanistan.
The Netherlands were 63/1 at the end of the first powerplay after choosing to bat. A side strain had caused Rashid Khan to leave the field. Their man of the match in Pune, Fazal Haq Farooqi, was leaking runs.
They also appeared uninteresting on the field. After the powerplay, Rashid came back, gathered the team for a meeting, and gave them a motivational speech. The Afghans’ situation quickly improved.
The ideal pursuit
Afghanistan’s middle-order combination of Rahmat Shah (52), captain Hashmat Ullah (56 not out), and Azmatullah Omarzai (31 not out) ensured a convincing victory after restricting the Netherlands to 179.
Afghanistan lost their in-form openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran early while chasing a modest total. However, Rahmat and Hashmat Ullah, their sheet anchors, put on a 74-run partnership for the third wicket to ensure that they do not collapse on a challenging surface.
Rahmat scored his third half-century in a row, and their captain scored his third of the competition. With his quick stroke, Omarzai—coach Jonathan Trott believes to be among the cleanest hitters of the ball—ensured that they won with 18.3 overs remaining.
Netherlands were cruising at 73/1 and appeared ready to make significant runs. But they made a mistake and were dismissed for 179 runs. After paddle-sweeping Nabi, opener Max O’Dowd attempted to take a two. O’Dowd was looking magnificent and had smashed eight boundaries in the powerplay.
While patrolling at square leg, Omarzai sprinted nearly thirty yards to his right, picked up the ball, and made a one-handed pick-up pass that struck the bull’s eye.
The large screen revealed that O’Dowd had missed it by the narrowest of margins, and he appeared shaken. Until his teammates mobbed him, neither he nor Omarzai could believe their good fortune.
The sling trap
Afghanistan selected a four-pronged spin attack for this game, with veteran bowler Mohammad Nabi being their best option. Wesley Barresi was bowled out by Mujeeb in the opening over, but Nabi, Rashid Khan, and Noor Ahmad tightened the screws during the first powerplay.
Edwards was outwitted by Nabi, leading to the Dutch captain’s dismissal. Ikram finished a crisp catch, and Bas de Leede snatched one. The flight had undone Logan van Beek. It was a stunning arrangement by Nabi.
The ball was bowled to the fourth stump line prior to him being hit by a tossed-up delivery. Nabi bowled a little wider than the previous delivery, knowing that Van Beek would utilize his feet. Van Beek fell in the trap, danced down the track, and Ikram finished the stumping.
