Let us go back to the end-of-match celebrations after Afghanistan had beated Pakistan. Yes, not Sri Lanka. There was jubilation. Jumping off chairs, hopping on to the ground and all those things.
There was something equally unmistakable. The batters who steered the team past the border did not go overboard. Hashmatullah Shahidi took a deep breath, removed his helmet, raised his arms towards heaven and said thank you! His partner from the other end did the same.
This composure of the captain of the team and rest of his teammates was again the talking point as the troubled nation claimed a third victory over a previous World Cup winner. England choked to doom their chase. Pakistan and Sri Lanka were decimated in the coolest possible manner when Afghanistan batted second. The last two were examples of execution with surgical precision.
Afghanistan were known for their spin-bowling resources. Who knows where they find them from and how they nurture them, but in Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, they have some serious attacking bowlers, who make that intent clear when they bat as well. Noor Ahmad, a surprise omission from the XI because of circumstances, adds to the list. They are about spin bowlers.
But that is not the Afghan story in a competition that they have silently enlivened. They have shown that they have other resources required to make a mark against so-called superior sides. They bat with purpose. Gone are the days when Mohammad Shahzad, that gung-ho keeper-opener, was their only bet with the willow. It’s not all about Rahmanullah Gurbaz either.
Whether this has happened mainly due to the influence of their coach Jonathan Trott is a matter of conjecture, but they are batting like men who know what to do under specific circumstances, and they have ice-cool nerves. There was no panic, no rush of blood, no adrenaline in the way they chased down the totals against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Trott was like that for the brief time he prospered for England.
It was clinical hunting down of the big game. In these batters like Ibrahim Zadran, Hashmatullah, Rahmat Shah, Azmatullah Omarzai and Ikram Alikhil, they have found guys who are professionals undeterred by the pressure of the situation. They bat and look the bowler in the eye in cold blood. Your job is to bowl, no matter which country you are form, my job is to bat you out of the game.
This has been the standout feature of a team which lost nine out of nine games in England in 2019. Back then, they showed bravado, but could not back it up with calmness. Now, they have arrived as a team which has more bases covered. The most significant change is this approach in batting. They don’t rush unless forced.
And that is a titanic shift, when it comes to the thought process of a team. They believe, back themselves, play solidly with minimal fuss and get the job done. Lion-hearted is an abused term in sports. In Afghanistan, we see a proper representation of that. It does not matter who wins this World Cup. It has already had a winner.