Afghanistan: The moments that mattered
Khan opener
In Afghanistan’s last group game against Nepal, chasing 195 for a win and a chance to keep Super Sixes hopes alive, Rashid Khan, 19 years old, standing in as captain, and MRF Tyres No.1 ranked T20I bowler, promoted himself to open the batting in a bid to boost his team's net run-rate. The leggie smashed 21 from 14 balls as his side’s chase rolled along at more than five runs an over to keep the dream alive.
Teenage Rohit
Much of Afghanistan’s storied rise has been driven by teenagers, with 19-year-old Rashid Khan and 16-year-old Mujeeb Ur Rahman both earning spots in this list for their exploits. But the youngest contributor wasn’t an Afghan at all, it was 15-year-old Nepalese Rohit Paudel Kumar, who struck an unbeaten 48 to guide Nepal to a five-wicket victory over Hong Kong. Had Hong Kong won, they would have progressed to the Super Sixes at Afghanistan’s expense. It was just the first of many results that went their way to help them qualify.
Mujeeb’s youth trumps Gayle’s experience
As the Super Sixes began, Afghanistan knew there was no margin for error; they needed to win all their games and hope a glut of other results went their way. None seemed tougher than their opening game against West Indies. They got the perfect start thanks to 16-year-old mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who flummoxed the dangerous 38-year-old Chris Gayle with a googly for the ages that pegged back the off stump. A larger age gap between dismissed batsman and dismissing bowler can rarely have been seen at international level!
Stanikzai's return
Rashid Khan has many virtuous qualities, but at the moment it seems captaincy isn’t one of them, with Afghanistan losing his first three games in charge. Though they went on to beat Nepal and West Indies under his command, the return from illness of Asghar Stanikzai was undoubtedly a boon to the side. He led them with aplomb, and also played a key hand with the bat in their final fixture.
The pressure reliever
Despite having restricted Ireland to 209/7, and getting a rapid start courtesy of Mohammad Shahzad’s half-century, a middle-overs crawl and some tight bowling meant that at the start of the 45th over, the DLS method had the scores exactly level; had it rained then, the game would have been tied, and Zimbabwe would have qualified in place of both teams. Captain Stanikzai ensured that Afghanistan were ahead of the game again within moments however, striking a four and then a six that just cleared long on in consecutive balls to put the result nearly beyond doubt.