Asia Cup 2018: Lessons for Team India from the tie against Afghanistan
The super four match between India and Afghanistan ended in a tie in the penultimate ball of the match. Hats off to Mohammad Shahzad who played the innings of his life. India would have definitely loved to enter the finals with a win against the ever-improving Afghanistan team but the tie was the best possible result for both the teams in the context of the closely fought game and going forward in the future.
For Afghanistan, it was a perfect result and as good as winning against India. They must be happy that they could close down in another close encounter without any heartbreak. It was a moral victory for Afghanistan. More than winning the match, they have won the hearts of millions of cricket fans all over the world with their performance in this edition of the Asia Cup. Now they can go home with their heads held high. This Afghan team resembles the Sri Lankan team of the early 80s.
For India, a defeat against minnows Afghanistan would have been humiliating and hard to swallow. It would have shattered their confidence ahead of the final. Going into the match with fringe players would not have been an excuse for losing to Afghanistan. It would have been a heartbreak for MS Dhoni, who was captaining the team for one last time, had India lost the match in his 200th match as captain of India.
On the other hand, the tied result is a bit of a wake-up call for India before the big finals. Had they won this match, it would have masked so many weaknesses of the team. The Indians can learn a thing or two from the tied result which would stand them in good stead in the finals.
Instead of voicing their opinion against some unlucky dismissals in their match against Afghanistan, the Indians should try to learn from their mistakes. They would be better off if they concentrate on what exactly went wrong against Afghanistan. This article is about the lessons the Indians should learn from their near defeat against Afghanistan.
#1 Never underestimate the opponents
The first and foremost lesson the Indians should learn is never underestimating the opponents. In limited overs cricket, one individual peice brilliance, like the one from Shahzad, could change the fortune of the weaker team quite dramatically. The Indians should acknowledge the fact that there are some match winners in the other team too who could take the game away from them in the blink of an eye.
We saw that happen in the Champions Trophy final when Fakhar Zaman played a blinder for Pakistan. In the match against Afghanistan, it was the turn of Mohammad Shahzad to go on the rampage at the most unexpected time. The Indians should expect such individual brilliance and should have a strategy in place to tackle such tough situations. They should not be caught unaware.