Afghanistan: A memorable campaign derailed by 'what if' moments

When the dust settles...Afghanistan will have contrasting emotions looking back at their campaign. Before this edition, Afghanistan had won only one game in World Cups, which came in 2015 against Scotland. They lost all nine games four years ago in England. However, they managed to pick up four wins this time and have managed to finish above the 2019 champions as well. This is indeed a remarkable achievement for the Afghans as they sent out a gentle reminder to the rest of the world that they are constantly on the rise.

However, Afghanistan can also look back at this campaign and wonder how they managed to lose out on a semifinal spot despite their impressive showing. Having toppled England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Netherlands, this team could have and should have seized their moment to create history. They can still be very proud of what they have achieved and hope to build something special going forward.

A match they would gladly re-watch the highlights of

The Pakistan fixture

They have ended up on the wrong side of some close encounters against Pakistan in recent times and there is a growing rivalry between these two nations. But Afghanistan managed to stun their much-fancied neighbours with a terrific run chase in Chennai which not only revitalised their own campaign but also dented their opponent's.

The players broke into a massive celebration following that victory as they chased down 283 with eight wickets in hand. For their own fans, this victory would go down as the biggest in their history.

A match they would have loved to replay immediately...

Australia...Glenn Maxwell...Wankhede

The victory over Pakistan kickstarted a run that saw them pick up three successive wins. They had fixtures against Australia and South Africa left in the campaign and winning those would have sent them to the semis. As difficult as the task is, Afghanistan will look back at that contest against Australia with massive regret. Chasing 292, Australia were on the brink of a shock defeat as the Afghans had them reeling at 91/7.

9 times out of 10, that game would have been settled. However, one dropped catch from Mujeeb Ur Rahman cost them dearly. Glenn Maxwell was handed a reprieve. He went on a hitting spree like never witnessed before to smash a double hundred and sink Afghanistan's hopes. They will also look back at their opening fixture against Bangladesh, a game they lost. Given how Bangladesh fared the rest of the tournament, Afghanistan would now know that it was an opportunity missed.

A performance to remember

Rahmanullah Gurbaz vs England

On a surface where scoring became tougher as the game progressed, a whirlwind 80 off 57 from Gurbaz proved to be extremely crucial. Gurbaz gave Afghanistan a very good platform by taking on the England new-ball bowlers and got to a fifty off just 33 balls. By the time he got out for 80, Afghanistan had only 122 on the board. While England were fighting back with wickets, Gurbaz's onslaught kept Afghanistan in a safe place in terms of the run rate and gave Ikram Ali Khil enough time to bat with the lower-order to guide Afghanistan to a very good score, which they defended pretty easily in the end for a memorable win.

Hits and Misses...

Not many expected Azmatullah Omarzai to perform the way he did with the bat. Najibullah Zadran's poor form gave Omarzai an opportunity to bat up the order and he made it count. He made a statement against India by smashing 62 and continued to grow in confidence as the tournament progressed. Omarzai also guided his side home in the run chase against Sri Lanka with an unbeaten 73 and narrowly missed out on a maiden ton in the final game against South Africa. With the ball, even though he proved to be expensive, the allrounder ended up picking seven wickets in the tournament.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz started off the tournament on a good note against Bangladesh, hammered a match-winning 80 against England and contributed 65 in that successful run chase against Pakistan. However, he could have contributed a lot more at the top of the order but finished the tournament with an average of just 31.

Think I've played my last World Cup game...

Touching 39, Mohammad Nabi has certainly played his last World Cup. Prior to the tournament, Naveen-ul-Haq confirmed that he is quitting the format as well. But with age on his side, never rule out a retirement reversal. Najibullah Zadran will be 34 during the next World Cup in South Africa. Given he is struggling now during his peak years, it's hard to see him play the marquee tournament in 2027.