May 1, 2010 is a remarkable date in the history of world cricket. As XI men from a country whose sporting interests could be summarised by the fact that they didn’t even have a proper ground for cricket practice, took the field at the highest level of the game, the world sat up and marveled at their determination.
A FASCINATING JOURNEY
Here was a group of unrelenting, passionate souls desperate for a tablespoon of glory, a moment of magnificence, a half chance to put their nation into the map of cricket followers. The same war-ravaged, torn and desiccated nation that had done little for them. This was a refugee’s dream – one that was shared by a thousand cricket romantics.
The journey from Division 5 to World Cup had posed more than a few challenges. Let alone playing against India, forming a national cricket team itself had seemed no more than a figment of imagination. The ICC did grant an affiliate membership status in 2001, but that had been more in name than anything else. 15 years later, as it now stands, the Afghans still do not possess a home ground that is actually at home.
The third match of the 2010 ICC World Twenty 20 was Afghanistan’s first against a full-member nation. They had made a surprisingly strong case for themselves through the qualifiers, but running into such a strong side as India in their very first game at the main event was unfortunate, if not almost cruel.
As the Nawroz Mangal-led side marched into the playing area at Gros Islet, they evoked strong reminiscence of the Bangladeshis a few years earlier. In reality though, Afghanistan had faced far more odds and championed them all one after another. Their perseverance and doggedness had yielded fruit slowly but surely.
STANIKZAI’S DEFIANCE
Afghan cricket fans clap as they watch a live broadcast of the game
(Courtesy: Getty)
Destiny’s unkindness, however, landed upon the Afghans in the second over itself when Karim Sadiq lost his wicket to Ashish Nehra. A brief while later Mohammad Shahzad succumbed to another legside bouncer in Nehra’s second over. The Afghan skipper followed suit after facing 11 deliveries, with the team reeling at 29/3.
The stage was set for an expected debacle for the underdogs. Prior to the match, the coach Kabir Khan had talked about adjusting and quick-learning. What however had escaped him is the fact that the mighty Indians were nothing like they had faced till then. Dhoni’s boys were more skilled, experienced, successful, and for the Afghans with nearly zero knowledge about what lay ahead, unbeatable.
Noor Ali Zadran and Asghar Stanikzai’s defiance had a single aim – to arrest the collapse. Their 68-run stand, nonetheless, did more than that. The opener, in particular, looked at ease against spin, nudging at deliveries and picking the odd boundary.
The pair continued to build their innings calmly yet swiftly until the 17th over when Nehra got the better of Ali with an immaculately pitched bouncer. A mistimed pull found Stanikzai walking towards the pavilion in the next over. Afghanistan struggled for 2.5 overs more after their departure and added 18 runs, finishing with an appreciable total of 115.
INDIA’S EASY CHASE
MS Dhoni shakes hands with Mohammad Shahzad
In reply, the Indian openers were denied a comfortable start with Afghan fielders diving and saving runs with blood and sweat. Left-arm pacer Shapoor Zadran impressed with his dot balls, as did the spin duo of Mohammad Nabi and Samiullah Shenwari.
The Indians ultimately cruised to a fairly easy victory, but it wasn’t before they had surrendered the top three to the Afghans. Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina held fort for some time after Gautam Gambhir’s dismissal. By the end of the 5th over, India had raced to 41/1 courtesy Raina’s powerful strokes. The southpaw perished soon trying to play across his front pad, but with the likes of Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni still to come, the prospect of an Afghan victory was far too slim for consideration.
Vijay missed his fifty by a whisker, choking towards the end before surrendering to a Hamid Hassan delivery. As Dhoni completed the formalities with two massive sixes and a couple, the freshly hatched Afghan dream was carefully kept aside for another day. The spirited men left the cricket field defeated, but not vanquished. They had played their hearts out: their emotions had been palpable; their delight echoed by the crowd; they had won millions of hearts subtly, inadvertently.
THE START OF SOMETHING SPECIAL
They haven’t looked back since, neither have they had a reason to. They eked out a win against Bangladesh in 2014 and tasted glory for the first time at the big stage when they overpowered Scotland in the group stages of the 2015 ICC World Cup. They even succeeded in giving the South Africans a mighty scare in World T20 earlier this year and also beat the eventual champions, West Indies.
The briskness of Afghanistan’s progress in recent years have stunned many, but the fact remains that they still have a long way to go before acquiring the prestigious Test-team status. The potential for a bright future is evident and the dream promising; the task that now lay ahead is to build a reality out of it.
