Cricket World Cup: Afghanan jump ahead of Pakan in semi-final race after beating Netherlands | Cricket-world-cup News

On the eve of the match, Afghanan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi had told The Indian Express how a change in mindset had given his team confidence that they can qualify for the semifinals, and it was fitting that he hit the winning boundary.On Saturday, in front of largely filled stands, the Afghans showed their mettle. After three wins on the bounce, they have thrown their hats in the ring for a place in the semis. Afghanan defeated the Netherlands seven wickets to jump ahead of Pakan in the points tally. With eight points, they are now placed fifth.
All through their campaign, Afghanan seem to have been following the template put in place Steve Waugh’s 1999 World Cup-winning team. The bowlers restrict the opposition to a below-par total, and then their batsmen chase it down with ease. Afghanan were also helped Netherlands’ poor running between the wickets, which resulted in four run-outs.
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After opting to bat, the Netherlands were 63/1 after the end of the first powerplay. Rashid Khan had walked out of the field due to a side strain. Fazalhaq Farooqi, their player of the match in Pune was leaking runs. They looked lacklustre in the field as well. Rashid returned after the powerplay, brought the team in a huddle, gave them a pep talk and things changed immediately for the Afghans.
The perfect chase
Afghanan restricted the Netherlands to 179, and then their middle-order trio of Rahmat Shah (52), skipper Hasmatullah (56 not out) and Azmatullah Omarzai (31 not out) made sure that they win it in a convincing way.
Chasing a modest total, Afghanan lost their in-form openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran early. But their sheet anchors Rahmat and Hasmatullah put on a 74-run stand for the third wicket and made sure that they don’t implode on a tricky surface. It was Rahmat’s third consecutive half-century, while their skipper hit his third of the tournament. Omarzai, who coach Jonathan Trott considers one of the cleanest strikers of the ball, with his brisk knock, made sure that they win with 18.3 overs to spare.

The Dutch hara-kiri
A couple of weeks ago Sachin Tendulkar compared Azmatullah Omarzai’s wr position to his former India seamers Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but on Friday, it was the Afghanan all-rounder’s rocket arm which came in handy for the Afghans in Lucknow.
At 73/1, Netherlands were cruising and looked set to put big runs on the board. However, they slipped and were bowled out for 179. Opener Max O’Dowd, who was looking imperious and had hit eight boundaries in the powerplay, tried to take a two after paddle-sweeping Nabi.
Omarzai, patrolling at square leg, ran almost 30 yards to his right, picked the ball and hit bull’s eye with his one-handed pick-up throw. O’Dowd looked rattled after the big screen showed that he had missed it a whisker. He couldn’t believe his luck, and neither did Omarzai until his teammates mobbed him.
The run out was the spark Afghanan needed at that moment of the match and it opened the floodgates. Four of Netherlands’ top five batsmen were run out.
Colin Ackermann’s (29) ball-watching saw him getting run out. On the next ball, Dutch skipper Scott Edwards was out for a duck. Edwards may consider himself unlucky.
While playing his trademark sweep shot, he lost his balance and slipped out of the crease, and Afghanan wicketkeeper Ikram Alikhil whipped the bails in a fraction of a second. Ikram, who had hurt his finger against Sri Lanka, was involved in six dismissals in the Netherlands innings.
The Dutch were not done with the hara-kiri in the middle. Engelbrecht scored a patient 58, his second fifty of the tournament and was the fourth from his team who got run out. Roelf van der Merwe called for a tight single after hitting one to mid-wicket and was off straight away. The throw from Nabi was not good, but Ikram collected it beautifully and did the rest.
The spin trap
Afghanan picked a four-pronged spin attack for this match and it was the old fox Mohammad Nabi, who was the pick of the bowlers. It was Mujeeb, who set the tone pinning Wesley Barresi in the first over, but it was Nabi, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad, who tightened the screws after the first powerplay.

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Nabi foxed Edwards which resulted in the Dutch skipper’s departure. Bas de Leede nicked one, and Ikram completed a sharp catch. Logan van Beek was undone with the flight. It was a beautiful set-up Nabi. The ball before he was beaten a tossed-up delivery, was bowled to fourth stump line. Nabi premeditated that Van Beek would use his feet and he bowled slightly wider to the previous delivery, Van Beek fell in the trap, danced down the track and Ikram completed the stumping.
At the post-match presentation, Nabi said while bowling he always wants to keep things simple. He told the broadcasters: “Sometimes the batsmen rush because the ball is too easy but I focus on my line and length and my variations. I always stick to my plans. I try to use my angles which is easy for me. Variations are also valuable for me on some pitches. Sometimes I get wickets due to it. I always focus on dot balls.”
Rashid didn’t get any wickets, but his mirror image Noor was unplayable. One can’t blame the Netherlands batsmen after what Noor did to Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in Bengaluru. Saqib Zulfiqar, playing his first match of the World Cup, had no clue about Noor’s bowling. A faint edge behind the stump ended his fifteen-ball misery at the crease. Noor picked up two wickets.