Afghanistan team has had a great start to their super 12 campaign. In the two games, they have shown that they are more than capable of not only handling tough situations but also dictate terms in a match. In the midst of this the question arises, will they be able the side to cause an upset in their group stage? Former Australian player Brad Hogg definitely feels so. The left-arm wrist-spinner posted a tweet on Saturday, claiming that Afghanistan is going to upset one of the big two in the group.
Afghanistan are going to upset one of the big teams this tournament. They held there own last night. #PAKvAFG #T20WorldCup
— Brad Hogg (@Brad_Hogg) October 30, 2021
The Muhhamad Nabi-led side has fared well enough in this tournament so far. In their very first encounter against Scotland, they posted a mammoth total of 190 runs and then bundled the inexperienced side for a meager score of 60 to complete a comprehensive victory. They also positioned themselves at the first position on the table with this victory along with a hefty NRR against their name. Coming into their second game against Pakistan they looked a little rattled at the start of the inning, but once they found their stride they gave Pakistan a hard time too. Their lower middle order contributed heavily on Friday to post a par score of 147 against Pakistan. However, it was their spin trio of Nabi, Mujeeb, and Rashid that tied Pakistan down. It took some extraordinary efforts from Pakistan’s batters to steal a victory in this contest. On any other day, if Asif Ali had not played that miraculous inning of 25 from 7, Afghanistan would have emerged victorious.
The very fact that it wasn’t a landslide or one-sided victory for Pakistan, shows that Afghanistan indeed has the caliber of defeating both New Zealand and India, given that they stick to their strengths.
