By Avenash Ramzan
West Indies found themselves against two opponents in Zimbabwe today- Afghanistan and themselves. Unfair you may say, but they seem to not want it any other way.
They first batted poorly against the Afghan spin-dominated attack after winning the toss, and then seemed to be making a concentrated effort to fail in the field.
A total of 197-8, which was the result of being stifled by their own ineptness against quality spin bowling, was followed by sloppy fielding; four catches were floored and two run-out chances missed. Those reprieves cost West Indies 58 runs or approximately 29% of the target.
In low-scoring affairs, such inexcusable blunders would more often than not prove detrimental.
In the end, Afghanistan marched home with three wickets in hand and 14 balls to spare in Super Six action of the ICC World Cup Qualifier in Harare.
Afghanistan, who scraped through to the Super Six after a forgettable performance in the group stage, secured the maximum two points. West Indies, meanwhile, Group A table-toppers with the maximum four wins, left the ground empty-handed, and with questions swirling over their heads.
Afghanistan lost two early wickets with 17 on the board, but recovered well in mid-innings. Despite losing seven wickets, there were several pockets of partnerships that significantly helped to tick away at the measly target.
Rahmat Shah was the glue to the innings, topscoring with 68 off 109 balls. Mohammad Nabi made 31, Samiullah Shenwari 27, Najibullah Zadran 19. Jason Holder took 3-39 and debutant Keemo Paul 2-29.
West Indies batsmen struggled against 39 overs of spin employed by Afghanistan, posting just under 200.
The Afghan spinners kept things tight, with only Shai Hope getting past 40 with 43 from 94 balls. Such was the dominance of the Afghan bowlers that West Indies managed just 10 fours and two sixes in the 50 overs.
Marlon Samuels made 36, Jason Holder 28 and Evin Lewis 27. Paul struck a six in his unbeaten 16. Sixteen-year-old off-spinner and Man-of-the-Match Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who shared the new ball, took 3-33 and Mohammad Nabi 2-43 for Afghanistan.
What they said…
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan: “Feeling happy. We didn’t play well in the first round, but it’s good to come back and start with a win. The bowlers did superbly to restrict a big team. It was nervous as the chase went on, we lost our way much like we did in the first round. I wanted to keep playing till the end, bat through. We knew we’d win if we did that.”
West Indies captain Jason Holder: “Credit to them, we let ourselves down. 230 would’ve been a good total. Later in the field, we were sloppy. With the bat, we had wickets in hand, a solid foundation but couldn’t launch. We have to regroup and come back against Zimbabwe.”
Man-of-the-Match Mujeeb Ur Rahman: “This victory is to our people. I have no problem bowling with the new ball. I bowl with the new ball at training too, so I’m used to bowling in the powerplay. Nabi and Rashid have always supported me, the support of the senior players has been fantastic.”
