Afghanistan's Challenge In Asia Cup: How India, Bangladesh, Pakistan Can Expose Their Weakness

Afghanistan team inm T20Is (Source: AFP)

Afghanistan's cricket rise over the years is an inspiration for many associate nations looking to go up the ladder in the cricketing universe. They played their first T20 World Cup in 2010, and in just 15 years, they have built an arsenal that many consider to be the second-best team in Asia currently.

Afghanistan's Rise In World Cricket

They even made it to the semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2024, a position where Bangladesh and many other teams, despite being senior to Afghanistan, have not been able to reach so far. Also, many Afghan cricketers are now stars in the franchise leagues across the world, and the influx of young talent is getting stronger and stronger.

Thus, Afghanistan's cricket is certainly moving in the right direction and are likely to get even better in the future. However, for any team to be successful at the highest level for a long time, they need to be multi-dimensional and adjust to different conditions and situations of the game. 

Afghanistan's One-Dimensional Winning Pattern Could Prove Disastrous

Rashid Khan's team has shown the potential to do that, but there is one pattern that they need to get rid of if they want to put themselves alongside teams like India, Australia, South Africa, England and want to win a multination tournament like the Asia Cup. Thus, let's dive deeper into the pattern of Afghanistan's losses and wins in T20Is over the years.

If we consider Afghanistan's historic campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024, they won five out of their eight games. Four of those wins came while batting first, and the only match they won chasing was against Papua New Guinea. Thus, struggled while chasing against the West Indies and India, and it was clear that the Afghans are not as comfortable with chasing as they are with batting first.

The same pattern was seen in the recently held tri-series in the UAE. They played three matches against Pakistan, and lost two of them in which they were chasing while they won comfortably when they batted first. The same pattern have been seen in many bilateral series as well, and if we see the overall history of Afghanistan, they have been more dominant while defending a target.

Afghanistan's Record In T20Is - Batting First vs Bowling First

Out of their 89 wins, they have won 55 after batting first in T20Is and have a win/loss ratio of 1.833, which is greater than their overall ratio of 1.648. Moreover, Afghanistan have not been able to win any T20I match against India, England and South Africa. They have won one match against Australia, and that came while defending the target; thus, Afghanistan still have a lot of catch-up to do against some big teams, and so far, most of their wins on the big stage have come while defending the target.

Thus, if Afghanistan want to win Asia Cup 2025, they need to show better chasing abilities and for that, they need their batting group to deliver. They have world-class spinners like Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Noor Ahmad in their line-up and that helps them while defending the target.

On the batting front, Afghanistan's openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, have played a big role in their wins. However, Gurbaz has struggled while batting second and has only one fifty while chasing, compared to one hundred and nine half-centuries in the first innings.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz Batting Stats In T20Is

Ibrahim Zadran Batting Stats In T20Is

Mohammad Nabi: Batting Stats In T20Is

Ibrahim Zadran, too, has a strike-rate of less than 100 in T20Is while chasing, and their middle order has often crumbled when their openers have not delivered. The experienced Mohammad Nabi's record is also pretty mediocre in the second innings, and he has not scored a single fifty while chasing in T20Is.

Conclusion:

Thus, Afghanistan batters clearly need to step up while chasing, as other big teams like India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh might exploit that weakness in the upcoming Asia Cup. Therefore, it is a pattern that Rashid Khan and his boys need to get away with as soon as possible to take themselves to the next level in international cricket.

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