Afghanistan are a force to reckon with: Tom Moody

Afghanistan came into the ongoing Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as one of the underdogs. However, they gave each and every team a run for their money and showed the cricketing world what they are capable of. Asghar Afghan and Co comfortably topped Group B after they defeated Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi without dropping any sweat whatsoever.

In the Super 4, they were scheduled to face tougher challenges. Nevertheless, it didn’t unnerve them by any stretch of the imagination. In their first match of the second round, they ran Pakistan close only for Shoaib Malik to play a blinder of a knock and deny them a victory. After Hashmatullah Shahidi and Asghar Afghan scored half-centuries, the bowlers did an exceptional job.

Afghanistan stun India

In the second match against Bangladesh, they were on the brink of victory, but left-arm fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman bowled a stupendous last over to inflict the Afghans with another jolt. To rub salt into their wounds, they were also eliminated from the multi-nation event. Nonetheless, the close defeats didn’t fizzle out their enthusiasm to perform well against India.

Their final match at Dubai International Cricket Stadium turned out to be a heart-racing thriller and Afghanistan eventually managed to hold on to a tie. After Mohammad Shahzad’s fifth ODI century helped Afghanistan post 252, the bowlers didn’t allow the batters to settle. Leg-break bowler Rashid Khan defended seven runs off the last over.

In the meantime, Tom Moody, the former Australian cricketer, reckons Afghanistan have the potential to roll over a few opponents in next year’s Cricket World Cup in England and Wales. He took to Twitter and wrote, “Once again @ACBofficials prove they are a force to be reckoned with, could’ve easily won 3 #AsiaCup matches. Can’t wait to see how many teams they roll in the #WorldCup next year! #IndvAfg,”

Here is Moody’s tweet

Once again @ACBofficials prove they are a force to be reckoned with, could’ve easily won 3 #AsiaCup matches. Can’t wait to see how many teams they roll in the #WorldCup next year! #IndvAfg

— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) September 25, 2018

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