Review: Afghanistan script their World Cup moment

One would have expected to see fast bowler Shahpoor Zadran race across the field with hands outstretched in celebration after taking a wicket, but the tall and strapping bowler had the opportunity to do that after hitting a four in the last over, taking his team to victory against Scotland in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. It was Afghanistan's glory moment that everyone wanted to see and looking back at their maiden World Cup campaign they should be proud of what they achieved. They were expected to win against a weaker team like Scotland which they did, but the way they ran teams like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh close gave us a glimpse of their potential. But like any other smaller team, Afghanistan too were unable to sustain their early momentum and fizzled away as the league phase progressed.

Record in the WC Played 6, Won 1, lost 5, Points 2

High Point

Recording their first win at a World Cup will most definitely be the highest point of the World Cup for the Asians minnows, but they had to toil very hard for that. After Shahpoor (4/38) and Dwalat Zadran (3/29) had restricted Scotland to 211, it took a special effort from Samiullah Shenwari (96) to take his team closer to a win before the last pair of Hamid Hasan and Shahpoor sealed a historic win at Dunedin. The match will also go down as one of the best of this edition along side New Zealand-Australia's low-scoring thriller and the 1st semi-final fixture between New Zealand and South Africa - both at Auckland.

Low Point

Considering a lot was expected of Afghanistan's bowling unit and the fact that they had the opposition batsmen in a spot of bother more often than not, conceding a 412 runs in their 50 overs to Australia will be something they will like to forget rather quickly. David Warner's 133-ball 178 blew away Afghanistan and the misery was piled on by Steven Smith (95) and a Glenn Maxwell special (88 off 39 balls). The batting unit was no match to Australia's superior bowling attack and the Associate nation pummelled to the biggest loss (runs) in any World Cup losing the tie by 275 runs.

Captaincy verdict

Mohammad Nabi the player did not do much in the World Cup scoring just 90 runs in six matches and taking three wickets at an average of 87.00 with a run-rate of 5.71. But as a captain, Nabi has always been an inspirational figure and they way he the lead the team as remarkable. The most striking moment of Nabi's captaincy came when Afghanistan were closing in on a win against Scotland. Samiullah Shenwari's heroics had the Afghanistan camp all excited, but Nabi ensured that the team didn't go berserk after the win and kept his and team's poise well.

Most valuable player

Samiullah Shenwari topped the run-charts for Afghanistan with 254 runs at an average of 42.33 and was able to hold the otherwise fickle batting order together. He is not a technically gifted player, but his unorthodox approach was rather successful. He had played a crucial part in Afghanistan's big win over Bangladesh in the Asia Cup and from being a handy lower-middle order bat, the 28-year-old has transformed himself in to the team's mainstay.

Major disappointment

While Afghanistan bowlers bowled their heart out, they were more often than not defending low totals as the batting failed to live up to the expectations. Former skipper Nawroz Mangal is an experienced campaigner who has played a big role in shaping this team and for him to score just 108 runs in six matches at an average of 18.00 was just disappointing. The only Afghanistan player to score a century in ODIs, expectations from Mangal were really high, but the 30-year-old fell short.

Verdict

For any Associate team, a win under their belt in a World Cup is a proud moment, and for Afghanistan, whose rise to international cricket has been nothing less than phenomenal, to put up a fight against the likes of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh was heartening to see. They did not shy away from showing their potential and by including the likes of Javed Ahmadi, Afsar Zazai and Usman Ghani in the squad; they showed that they have already started investing in the future, which, by the way, looks really promising.