Afghanistan‘s inaugural Test against India had a lot riding on it. It was seen as the next step in the super-charged rise of Afghanistan in international cricket and also the third installment of ‘minnows’ challenging the big boys at the international stage.
Ireland challenged Pakistan in their first Test in Dublin, losing by five wickets after threatening to turn the tables. Thereafter, Scotland stunned world No1 ODI team England by six runs after scoring 371-5 in Edinburgh.
Afghanistan were expected by many, including this writer, to challenge world No1 Test side India in Bengaluru but they ended up capitulating inside two days in one of the most one-sided matches in the 21st century.
So why were Ireland competitive against Pakistan while Afghanistan’s failed to reach the half-way point?
CONDITIONS
Afsar Zazai is bowled by Ishant Sharma . Image: BCCI.
The pitch for the Dublin Test was just what Ireland needed to remain in the match against Pakistan. The wicket had just about enough grass to keep their quicks interested without giving too much of an advantage to Mohammad Amir and Co. And then it flattened out enough for Kevin O’Brien to score a superlative century.
India completely negated Afghanistan’s spin threat by playing the Bengaluru Test on a true pitch that had good pace and bounce, keeping fast bowlers in the hunt. Had it been a dustbowl, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman could have been deadly.
Pacers Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav moved the ball at good pace and got enough purchase from the wicket, which was too much for the debutants.
FIRST-CLASS EXPERIENCE
When Ireland prepared for their Test bow, they had more first-class experience than Pakistan. The combined first-class tally of the Irish team amounted to 1103 matches, which was more than that of Pakistan – 799 matches.
Compare that to Afghanistan who gave limited-overs star Mujeeb ur Rahman a Test cap while knowing he hadn’t played any first-class game.
Ireland’s players have spent years in first-class cricket and the county circuit, which helped them maintain pace in a Test match while Afghanistan struggled to slow the game down when India gained the upper hand.
OPPONENTS
Afghanistan played the No1 Test team in the world. And India have become the No1 team because they have been consistent and clinical for a couple of seasons. Even though India were without regular captain Virat Kohli, keeper Wriddhiman Saha and Mohammed Shami, the rest of the line-up has been playing quality Test cricket and knows how to get back on its feet quicker than other teams.
Pakistan are mercurial at best in Test cricket and they went into the tour of England and Ireland with a limited-overs side hoping to get them acclimatised to conditions of next year’s World Cup in England. That reduced the gap between the two teams in Dublin.
