The script was always meant for Afghanistan’s spinners to dominate proceedings against New Zealand’s batting unit on a slow pitch in the ICC T20 World Cup, in Guyana. The expected outcome did happen with Rashid Khan and Mohhammed Nabi bagging enough wickets between them. But there was another notable performance, which would have gladdened Rashid and the Afghanistan camp – Fazalhaq Farooqi ripping through New Zealand with swing and the left-arm angle.
The first delivery of New Zealand’s innings itself was an indicator of things to come. From over the wicket, Farooqi swung one back prodigiously and uprooted the timber to send Finn Allen back to the hut. It had all the ingredients of an archetypal left-arm pace bowler’s wicket. It is also something that Fazalhaq specialises in: Be it the inswinging yorker or the fuller-length ball swinging back into the right-hander.
Just rewind back to the Under-19 World Cup held in South Africa in 2020. South Africa would have hoped to begin their home tournament on the right note but they were dealt a massive blow in the opening over, with Farooqi castling Jonathan Bird via a peach of a swinging yorker. You will get many more examples of Farooqi holding sway at the start of an innings with swing.
His heroics didn’t end there as Farooqi had Devon Conway with an offering that stopped a bit on the left-handed batter. Subsequently, he showcased some bowling smarts by changing the angle to round the wicket to nip out the dangerous Daryl Mitchell with a delivery that left the batter. That is in brief an analysis about his bowling. But it is a disservice to the Afghanistan side if we restrict it to just mundane review of how a batter scored his runs or how they went about demolishing the opponent in the field.
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It is also about Afghanistan and their passion for cricket. Just have a peek at Farooqi’s teammates finding it rather tough to catch up with him in order to celebrate the wicket of Allen. Then there was Rashid, the Afghanistan skipper. The fulcrum of the Afghanistan line-up has played T20 leagues around the globe and has partaken in 200 internationals.
However, while watching Rashid’s carefree enthusiasm after every wicket that he took in the Afghanistan-New Zealand game, it felt as if fans had travelled back to 2015 and the Afghanistan captain was making his international debut.
Afghanistan have also sharpened their weapons by bringing in a bit of method to their game. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, batting at the top of the order, don’t just look to swing their willows across the line, but they are also prepared to pick the right ball to attack. This is a massive change from the time when Afghanistan had their share of detractors for playing some mindless cricket. Jonathan Trott, the current head coach, deserves credit for instilling the basics of batting in Afghanistan’s line-up.
Despite all the positive signs surrounding Afghanistan cricket, the Asian nation has won eight out of 23 matches in T20 World Cups, and their best result was reaching Super 10s in the 2016 edition. Last year, they had a golden opportunity, albeit in the 50-over World Cup, to take their performance to an elevated level.
Unfortunately, they suffered a heartbreaking loss to Australia. Six months later, they are sitting pretty on top of the Group C Table in the T20 World Cup, with two wins out of two. Maybe, this time around, they are destined to pen down a memorable campaign
Also Read: Farooqi wreaks havoc as Afghanistan inflict heavy defeat on New Zealand in Guyana