Batting is a game of patience and other takeaways for Afghanistan after inaugural Test defeat

Waseem Ahmed 16:43 16/06/2018
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  • Afghanistan's batting let plenty to be desired. Image - ACB/Twitter.

    Afghanistan’s maiden Test came to a grinding halt inside two days as they succumbed to a heavy defeat by an innings and 262 runs against India at Bengaluru.

    Asghar Stanikzai’s men, who became the 12th Test playing nation in history, found the going extremely tough against the No1 ranked Indians in their own backyard.

    While the margin of defeat will no doubt be disheartening for the debutants, they will have learned plenty from the chastening.

    Here, we take a look at three things Afghanistan can learn from their inaugural Test.

    SPINNERS NEED TO ADAPT TO TEST MATCH LENGTHS

    Before the start of the Test, Stanikzai had created a bit of a stir by declaring that his spinners were better than their Indian counterparts. With No1 T20 bowler Rashid Khan and mystery-spin prodigy Mujeeb ur Rahman in their ranks, you could see where Stanikzai was coming from.

    However, what Rashid and Mujeeb learned the hard way was that Test cricket is light years away from the world of limited-overs formats. Instead of inserting constant pressure to set up the batsmen, they overdid it by trying to do too much with every delivery. Their line and lengths in the first session of the opening day were very much T20 cricket lengths with Rashid especially erring by trying to bowl too many googlies.

    They did improve in this aspect by the time the second session arrived but by then, most of the damage had already been done by Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay.

    Rashid Khan bowled too many googlies at the start. Image - ACB/Twitter

    Rashid Khan bowled too many googlies at the start. Image – ACB/Twitter

    BATTING IS A GAME OF PATIENCE

    While all eyes were on Afghanistan’s bowlers ahead of the Test, the batsmen sort of slipped under the radar. In the end, it was their batting which was woefully exposed in both innings with none of the batsmen.

    While their totals in both innings were paltry, it was the manner in which the Afghan batsmen approached the job which left a lot to be desired. There was barely any rotation of the strike with the batsmen choosing to deal mostly in boundaries. The way Mohammad Shahzad was run-out by Hardik Pandya in the first innings while trying to pinch a quick single showed a complete lack of application.

    Stanikzai’s own dismissal in the second innings after being tied down by 11 consecutive dot-balls told the whole story. The Afghan skipper charged down the wicket to Ravindra Jadeja in an attempt to break the shackles and paid the price with his wicket.

    What they will need to learn the hard way is that red-ball cricket is very much a test of attrition rather than going all gung-ho.

    While they do not have much first-class cricket under their belt, Afghanistan will need to learn the art of batting in a Test match soon if they want to establish themselves as a formidable unit in the format.

    Afghanistan have plenty to learn with the bat,. Image - ACB/Twitter.

    Afghanistan have plenty to learn with the bat,. Image – ACB/Twitter.

    AFGHANISTAN NEED MORE FIRST-CLASS CRICKET

    The lack of first-class cricket experience was the biggest handicap for Afghanistan in their maiden Test. With an average first-class experience of less than 15 matches, the newcomers struggled with the basics of the game.

    Young Mujeeb was in fact making his first-class debut in the same game.

    The Ahmed Shah Abdali four-day tournament (Afghanistan’s first-class competition) was given official recognition from the ICC only last year and has six teams participating in it.

    What Stanikzai’s men desperately need is a more robust first-class structure. Though the BCCI has been helpful in this regard by announcing that all touring teams to India will play a warm-up match against Afghanistan in the future, the debutants might need a little more than that if they are to make rapid progress in the Test arena.

    Mujeeb and co need quality first-class cricket. Image - ACB/Twitter.

    Quality first-class cricket is the need of the hour. Image – ACB/Twitter.

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