Afghanistan to cause a major upset in the Asia Cup final, predicts Kevin Pietersen
Afghanistan are playing just their second Asia Cup after 2014 when they finished fifth among six teams.
They are the lowest ranked Test-playing nation in this Asia Cup but their performance so far has already made a thumping impact. Afghanistan, the 10th ranked ODI team has thrashed Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in their group games to finish as the toppers and were also playing Pakistan with a lot of authority in the Super Four stage. Underdogs not long ago, Asghar Afghan’s side now seems to be a dark horse in the tournament.
Having beaten only Zimbabwe and Ireland more than 10 times, Afghanistan came to the tournament as a side capable of pulling off a surprise or two. But they played with authority in both their games and defeated Sri Lanka by 91 runs in their first game and Bangladesh by 136 runs in their second game.
On both occasions, the Afghan side scored 250 runs on an average and restricted the opponents below 160. In their first game in the Super Four stage against Pakistan too, Afghanistan scored 257 batting first and were giving Pakistan a real challenge to win it.
Afghanistan could go all the way
The team’s eye-catching performance was praised by a lot of people and one among them is former England batsman Kevin Pietersen. The 38-year-old South Africa-born said in a tweet that his instinct was telling him that Afghanistan could go all the way to the finals and even cause an upset there. He said the prevailing conditions in the UAE and the constitution of their team make Afghanistan a decent side in the tournament.
The Afghans are playing their second Asia Cup after 2014 when they finished fifth among six teams after defeating Bangladesh. The red helmets have two more games to play in the Super Four stage – against Bangladesh and India – and they would have to play really good to qualify for the final by finishing among the top two teams.
Afghanistan’s ace cricketer Rashid Khan was the hero against Bangladesh on Thursday night when he slammed a quick 50 at No. 9 and then picked 2 wickets for 13 runs in 9 overs to make it a memorable birthday.
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