Watch Afghanistan take on Australia in Cricket World Cup live on Sky Sports Cricket from 8am Tuesday (8.30am first ball); Afghanistan have gone from facing Botswana and Bahamas 15 years ago to pushing for semi-final place in India
Tuesday 7 November 2023 08:02, UK
"When you think of Afghanistan it's usually bad stories - Taliban, war, earthquakes. But this is another amazing page in the story of the men's cricket team. It has been an amazing rise to prominence and this was the greatest night in their history."
That was how Sky Sports pundit Michael Atherton reacted to Afghanistan's first-ever triumph over England - and first against anyone bar Scotland at a 50-over World Cup - when they beat Jos Buttler's defending champions by 69 runs in Delhi last month.
For Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, the victory, which followed losses to Bangladesh and India to kick off the competition, was just the start: "This was the first win, not the last win," he proudly declared at the presentation. He was not wrong.
Hashmatullah's men have since beaten two more former world champions - 1992 victors Pakistan by eight wickets and 1996 winners Sri Lanka by seven wickets - as well as Netherlands to make it three wins on the spin and four in total.
They are firmly in the hunt for a semi-final place ahead of Tuesday's meeting with Australia in Mumbai - live on Sky Sports Cricket from 8am (8.30am first ball).
Win that game and Afghanistan will be within touching distance of a spot in the last four for the first time. Back that up with victory over South Africa in Ahmedabad on Friday and progression will be guaranteed. Lose both and they could still advance on net run-rate.
It is remarkable that a side playing in the lowest tier of international cricket 15 years ago, when they faced the likes of Japan, Botswana, Bahamas and Jersey, are shining at the elite level. That a side who never play at home - and always worry about what is going on at home - are beating such established cricketing nations.
But it is not remarkable when you consider the quality of player they possess. Long gone are the days where leg-spin maestro Rashid Khan keeps the team afloat single-handedly. He is still around - bagging seven wickets in this tournament, including three against a spin-befuddled England - but now has support. Lots of it.
He has had that for a while in fellow former captain Mohammad Nabi, 38, who claimed two wickets with his wily off-breaks against England and three-for versus Netherlands.
But another off-spinner, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (seven wickets in seven games) and left-arm wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad (five wickets in two matches) are threats as well.
It does not only need to be spin to win for Afghanistan these days, though. In right-arm quick Naveen-ul-Haq and left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi, they have skilful seamers, with Farooqi recording a four-wicket haul against Sri Lanka.
Plus, the batters have fired to some degree in every game bar the opening loss to Bangladesh and 149-run thrashing by New Zealand, when they were rolled for 156 and 139 respectively. The successful run chases against Pakistan and Sri Lanka were ever so serene.
Afghanistan reached 283 versus Pakistan only two down with Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65), Ibrahim Zadran (87), Rahmat Shah (77no) and Hashmatullah (48no) all contributing.
They then knocked off 242 against Sri Lanka just three down as Hashmatullah (58no) steered his side over the line once again, this time alongside Azmatullah Omarzai (73no), after earlier contributions from Rahmat (62) and Zadran (39) once Gurbaz was banished for a four-ball duck.
Calmness and Afghanistan's batting have not always gone hand in hand. Sky Sports commentator Nasser Hussain remarking that their players could often "play the shot of the day, not the innings of the day" but Jonathan Trott appears to have brought real composure.
Ex-England batter Trott was perhaps a surprising choice as coach, with the slow - if mightily effective - way he accumulated his 2,819 ODI runs at an average 51.25 at odds with the swashbuckling way modern teams, including Afghanistan, look to play white-ball cricket.
However, Trott's charges have lost none of their gusto - just look at the way Gurbaz smoked England all around Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi last month to the tune of 80 from 57 balls before he was needlessly run out by captain Hashmatullah - while being able to add refinement and nous.
Hashmatullah said of Trott after his unbeaten fifty against Sri Lanka: "Jonathan is always positive. He had a word with me before the game and it changed my mindset a lot."
Trott said: "Afghanistan [players] naturally grow up playing a lot more T20 cricket than any other format, so the skills for T20 are there. It's about adding to the base of T20 skills.
"As you see, 50-over cricket is a long time and you have to be able to ride the ebbs and flows of a game. Having that sort of vision, knowing that you can score quickly towards the back end of games, I think that's the pennies we're starting to see drop with the players.
"There's a difference between talking about it and actually going out and doing it. And we're seeing players go out and do it now. We've spoken a lot about it and worked really hard to try and achieve it, so it's nice to see the players do well and have a smile on the face."
The smiles on Afghanistan's players' faces will be wider still if they beat Australia on Tuesday. A result like that would add another entry to their list of great nights and push them closer to the uncharted territory of the World Cup knockout phase.
Will the amazing rise continue?
Watch Afghanistan take on Australia live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 8am on Tuesday (8.30am first ball) - or follow text commentary and in-game video clips on skysports.com and the Sky Sports App.
You can also stream the Cricket World Cup without a contract through NOW.
