Last Update on: November 8th, 2023 at 12:50 pm
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra explained the reason behind Afghanistan’s loss against Australia in their league-stage match of the ICC World Cup 2023. Aakash Chopra empathized that Afghanistan’s fielding lapses impacted the outcome of the recent match.
The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led team scored 291 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday, November 7. Australian destructive all-rounder Glenn Maxwell played an unbeaten innings of 201 runs off 128 deliveries, leading the team to a three-wicket victory.
Fielding Has Let This Team Down – Aakash Chopra
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra criticized Afghanistan’s fielding, emphasizing that it has been a consistent issue. Chopra pointed out that Maxwell’s catch had a substantial impact on the match.
“Fielding has let this team down. This has happened earlier as well and has happened again. It has become slightly frustrating that Afghanistan’s fielding is extremely ordinary. Otherwise, the team is playing extremely well. They lost but won hearts. They will think they lost an opportunity,” Chopra said.
“No one drops catches deliberately but this was a regulation catch, and after that, the match itself went out of their grasp. No one thought a catch would be dropped like that, or Pat Cummins would play almost 70 balls for just 12 runs, or there would be such a big 200-run partnership where one guy would contribute just 12,” he added.
Mujeeb dropped an easy catch at a short fine leg off Noor Ahmad’s bowling when Maxwell was 33. The Australian all-rounder was fortunate to survive two more opportunities, as Shahidi missed a difficult chance and overturned the leg-before decision.
I Rate Ibrahim Zadran Very Highly – Aakash Chopra
The cricketer-turned-commentator noted that Afghanistan could have aimed for more with the bat in the first innings. Chopra praised Ibrahim Zadran for becoming the first Afghanistan player to achieve this feat in the World Cup.
“Before all that, they reached 291 while batting. It seemed like 325 runs were also possible at one stage. They couldn’t pace their innings that well but Ibrahim Zadran became the first Afghanistan player to score a century on the World Cup stage,” Chopra further added.
“He did it against a good team and in a good fashion. I rate him very highly. I feel he is extremely organized. Rahmanullah Gurbaz gave a decent start and then Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi and Rashid Khan in the end, everyone hit. Rashid plays different types of shots.”
Afghanistan remains in contention for a spot in the semi-finals despite the narrow three-wicket loss. The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led team will take on Temba Bavuma’s team in their upcoming match in Ahmedabad on Friday, November 10.
Also read: Aakash Chopra Shockingly Snubs India As He Names His Team Of World Cup 2023
