"They collapse if their openers don't do well" - Aakash Chopra on Afghanistan's issue heading into 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final vs South Africa
Aakash Chopra reckons batting is Afghanistan's area of concern heading into their 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final against South Africa. The two teams will square off at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago, on Wednesday, June 26.
Afghanistan pipped New Zealand to a Super 8 berth behind the West Indies from Group C. They subsequently stunned Australia and defeated Bangladesh in the Super 8s to make it to their maiden semi-final at a major ICC event.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that Afghanistan's over-reliance on Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran in the batting department could prove to be their stumbling block in the semi-finals.
"Afghanistan have a good team that has been playing with great passion. Their bowling is excellent and that's where they will try to catch South Africa. They remain in low-scoring, 120 to 140-run, matches. In batting, you feel the gap has widened on a flat pitch. They come closer when it's not a flat pitch," he said (11:45).
"However, they are overly dependent on their openers. If Gurbaz and Zadran do well, this team is able to score runs with confidence. However, they collapse if their openers don't do well. Gulbadin Naib has played one knock down the order. No one else has scored runs. They have moved players up and down the order and in and out of the team but the runs haven't come," the former India opener added.
Chopra noted that Afghanistan could have issues against the new ball and might not win a low-scoring game against South Africa on the Tarouba pitch.
"So batting is a concern, how they will negotiate the fast bowling, especially the new ball. If they become 20/2, they might be restricted to 110-115 once again. They have won all low-scoring games but they might find themselves on the wrong side of the result in this low-scoring game because this pitch might not be that much to their liking," he elaborated.
Gurbaz (281) and Zadran (229) are the highest and third-highest run-getters, respectively, in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Azmatullah Omarzai (101) is the only other Afghan player to aggregate more than 100 runs in the ongoing edition.
"Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq are at the top of their game suddenly" - Aakash Chopra on Afghanistan's bowling
On the flip side, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Afghanistan have a potent bowling attack.
"However, what works in their favor - bowling. Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq are at the top of their game suddenly. This World Cup has been in their names. Then come Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad. Gulbadin Naib does his job and they have Mohammad Nabi. So this team has an incredible bowling lineup," he observed in the same video (13:10).
The reputed commentator added that Rashid Khan and company's fighting qualities and urge to make their fans happy also work to their advantage.
"They have one more thing. They don't get scared. They are fighters. They say this is just a World Cup game, they have battled life. When such a team doesn't have anything to lose, they have the entire world to gain. They also know the Afghanistan public doesn't get much to be happy about and if they do well, they will become very happy. So there is a larger purpose to play," Chopra elaborated.
Afghanistan have primarily relied on their bowling to make it to the semi-finals. Fazalhaq Farooqi (16), Rashid (14), and Naveen-ul-Haq (13) have been their top three wicket-takers, with the other bowlers also playing their roles virtually to perfection.