On paper, the 17th match of the 2015 ICC World Cup appears little more than a battle for bragging rights between two of the tournament's less-fancied teams. Neither Scotland or Afghanistan are expected to make it to the quarter-finals, but considering the ICC's plan to shrink the World Cup to ten teams in 2019 and the reduction of opportunities for Associate nations to improve at the highest level, making as many ticks in the W column is of utmost importance to them.
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At every juncture of Scotland's World Cup campaign, Preston Mommsen has found himself defending his team's position as minnows. He has spoken of how they have nothing to prove because they won matches to qualify for the World Cup, but equally he has emphasised the importance of taking points home because of the make-up of the 2019 tournament. Scotland and Afghanistan have needed to win every match because there is so much riding on the success of the Associates.
Scotland have lost both their matches, to New Zealand by three wickets and England by 119 runs, while Afghanistan lost to Bangladesh by 105 runs and Sri Lanka by four wickets. Yet both teams will know that victories were close in one each of their previous games, and that with a bit more runs, they could beat Full Member teams. Right here in Dunedin, Scotland had New Zealand seven wickets down chasing 143 and Afghanistan reduced Sri Lanka to 51 for 5 and then 178 for 6 when defending 233. More is needed, and the two sides should know just what that is.
Scotland lost the wickets of Matt Machan and Peter Mommsen in quick succession to be in a spot of bother. Machan was outfoxed by a tossed up delivery from Nabi and found his off stump pegged back, while the Scotland skipper could only edge behind an away-swinger from Naib. Scotland were left reeling at 95/5 and will need a big knock from one of their lower order batsmen.
Afghanistan won the toss and have opted to chase.
Pitch Report: 'It could just be a little bit tricky for the batsmen, how they manage the off-stump channel. But it looks more Scottish kind of conditions than Afghanistan because there is a lot of grass cover. Having said that, you can still score runs provided that you are disciplined, provided that you see off the new ball. The first 10 overs are going to be critical because there are patches of green, there is a thick layer of grass which must be alien to an Afghanistan cricketer. The average score is 240-250, you should be looking to target that', reckons Rameez Raja.
Captain Comments:
Nabi: 'The boys performed well in the last game and hopefully we can perform well in this game as well because the pitch is very good for fast bowling. We will bowl first. It is a totally fresh wicket and we will look to put pressure on the Scotland guys. We have a good fast bowling unit. In the pratice session they were looking good and we will try to perform well in this game. Everyone is watching this, watching every game. In Afghanistan it is 2:30 in the night, but everyone is watching the game.'
Mommsen: 'I think the first two games, England and New Zealand have put us in a better place. We have played a lot of cricket against Afghanistan and hopefully that will work for us today. We need to put the runs on the board. The wicket won't change much and will remain the same.'
Dawlat Zadran enjoyed a first over that saw both extremes. Deliveries down the leg side and an absolute corker that left Kyle Coetzer bewildered, but it was Callum MacLeod who bore the brunt. The right-hander found a short and wide delivery in the offing, and his attempt to smash it to the fence only ended up finding the fielder at point, Najibullah Zadran taking a sharp catch to give the Asian side a dream start.
Kyle Coetzer woke up the small gathering of supporters in Dunedin with a stunning straight drive off Hamid Hassan in the 7th over of the innings. The former captain looks set to continue from where he left off in the game against England, during which he scored a valiant 71 at the top of the order.
The Scotland international's story is an interesting one, for sure. Always primed for captaincy, Coetzer got his chance during the World Cup qualifiers. However, an injury forced him out of the side and a young Preston Mommsen stepped up to the plate, and never gave it up. Read Coetzer's full profile, here.
By the way, while we are on the topic on people taking a tumble off the top, here's the legendary Madonna at it while Dancing with the Devils.
Hamid Hassan, looking every bit John Rambo, had Hamish Gardiner in all sorts of trouble in the 11th over. The right-hander put immense pressure on Gardiner with two back-to-back appeals for LBW. Both were turned down, but Hamid's job was done. With a fast, full-pitched delivery the very next ball, he had Gardiner out plumb in front for 5 (20).
Dawlat Zadran piled more misery on Scotland as he had Coetzer, the shot-of-the-day-so-far award winner, out bowled in the next over to leave Scotland in dire need of a big stand.
There was a gem today from the former Pakistan batsman - 'He was castled by a brilliant piece of a delivery' - and that is reason enough for us to run through some of the best (or worst) Raja quotes we, and hopefully you, have heard on commentary.
Leave your comment below, tweet (@cricbuzz) us your response or send in an email to submissions@cricbuzz.com, and we'll publish the best of the lot. Get sharing, then.
Afghanistan continued to impose themselves on the Scotland batsmen as they added two more wickets to their tally to leave their opponents close to being bowled out for a low total. Shapoor Zadran induced an edge off Matthew Cross, with keeper keeper Zazai taking a brilliant catch diving to his right. The right-armer picked up his 2nd wicket when he had Josh Davey out caught at mid-on - Hamid Hassan taking a good low catch, this time.
Dawlat Zadran got into the act soon after as he had Richie Berrington caught behind to leave Scotland eight down.
Majid Haq and Alasdair Evans shared a vital 50-run stand to help Scotland go past the 200-run mark. The 9th wicket pair found the going tought at the start, but stuck it out and then managed to score a few useful runs. Haq was out in the final over in the innings, for 31 (51), but Scotland managed to post a respectable target of 210. Shapoor was the star for Afghanistan with 4/38.
Who do you think will win, and why? Leave your responses in the comments section, below.
Okay, *fluff* maybe too harsh a word. Nawroz Mangal could only edge a rising delivery from Iain Wardlaw in the 5th over. Peter Mommsen, standing a second slip, flew full length to his right to get to the ball, but could not hold on to it. Mangal went on to notch up 1000 ODI runs for Afghanistan in the same over.Earlier in the innings, Javed Ahmadi had got the Afghan innings underway with two scorching boundaries off Josh Davey.
Chasing a tricky target, a solid foundation was quite essential and Javed Ahmadi started in fine fashion for the Afghans. The right-hander employed a statergy of stepping out to the pacers, and Scotland were caught unawares. The opener crashed Wardlaw for three boundaries in quick succession, helping Afghanistan race towards the fifty run mark.
Mommsen's men however came storming back into the game as Alasdair Evans struck twice in one over to send back Nawroz Mangal and Asghar Stanikzai cheaply.
Javed Ahmadi had put himself into a strong position with a run-a-ball fifty but threw it away as he went for a lofted shot immediately after and holed out to Machan. The wicket was the shot in the arm Scotland were waiting for as Josh Davey and Richie Berrington struck in successive overs to send back Nabi (1), Zazai (0), Naijubullah (4) and Naib(0). Berrington was the wrecker-in-chief with three wickets during the spell, while Davey was not behind with two wickets to his name. Afghanistan had lost their last five wickets for 11 runs.The onus will now be on the well-set Shenwari to bail his side out of trouble and push them towards victory.
Having lost a barrage of wickets, Afghanistan, understandably, went on the back foot and started to slowly mount a comeback. If you're as bored as I am, here's more about Afghanistan's stunning rise in world cricket. Out of the Ashes is a remarkable movie about how a war-torn country found its solace in the Gentleman's game. About the movie, The Guardian said: The wonderful film about Afghanistan's incredible cricketing journey deserves to be seen by as many people as possible.
No, not literally!
Shenwari, amidst a lot of angry bat waving, got to a fifty soon after.
Shenwari was batting brilliantly and ensured Afghanistan stayed in the game. With the equation down to 38 needed off the last four overs, he tonked Majid Haq for back to back sixes to get his side within touching distance of a win. Shenwari was hardly close to being finished. He played off a dot ball, and then slammed another massive six. Afghanistan look comfortable favourites now, but Scotland will know they are just two good balls, or two bad shots away from a win.Shenwari looked like he had targetted Haq. He went for another big hit, but unfortunately for him he was caught in the deep. Around four feet away from the ropes, and four runs away from what would have been a stunning hundred. He was out for 96 off 147 deliveries.
Dear ICC,Is this not competitive enough?Sincerely, A fan who would be p****d off should you cut Associate Countries out in the 2019 WCAfghanistan manage to take 5 runs off the 47th over. Four singles and a wide, and it's down to 14 off 12.
49.1 - Brilliant yorker! Squeezed out to third-man for a single. 4 off 5.
49.2 - Zadran missed the flick, tries to steal a single. Caught around 3 hours short of the crease, but the throw is wide and Shapoor survives, Afghanistan survive!
49.3 - Wardlaw misses yorker, Zadran doesn't! Clips it away to the boundary. Afghanistan clinch a historic one-wicket win, their first ever in World Cup history.
Cricket has its own Zlatan Ibrahimovic-esque doer-of-the-unthinkable, now. It's time to celebrate #DaretoZadran. Shapoor Zadran was Afghanistan's star with the ball, taking four important wickets to restrict Scotland to 210. When it came to contributing with the bat, the left-hander was composed in picking off singles before finishing the game off in style in the final over.
Shenwari's efforts deserves to be waxed lyrical as well. At a time when the rest of the batting order crumbled like a cookie that has seen its expiration date, the experienced batsman held firm and anchored the chase brilliantly. There was a touch of MS Dhoni in his calmness and belief in his abilities. There was a touch of Virat Kohli (at Adelaide) when he was out caught in the deep trying to push his team to a historic win. And, most importantly, there was a touch of what cricket means to Afghanistan when he slumped near the team dug-out like he had betrayed his nation after he had gotten out on 96.
Shenwari was named the Man of the Match for his superb efforts.