CHENNAI: By the time the world started mourning the demise of legendary Indian spinner Bishan Singh Bedi, Afghanistan were at the spot of bother at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai against Pakistan. Less than a week after their drubbing against New Zealand at the same venue, where the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side lost by a whopping 149 runs, a new obstacle was staring at them.
Even after losing Imam-ul-Haq early, Abdullah Shafique was looking in fine touch with his half-ton. Captain Babar Azam was soaking up the pressure in the middle overs to lay the foundation for a big score. Afghanistan needed a breather. And that breakthrough came in the form of the only left-arm spinner in Noor Ahmed. He first trapped the high-flying Shafique, whose failed sweep shot brought Mohammad Rizwan to the party. The wicketkeeper perished early trying to sweep against Noor.
On this ODI World Cup debut, the 18-year-old had justified the selection of the fourth spinner on the track as he later added Babar’s wicket in the final over of his quota. By the end of their bowling innings, the Afghan spin-bowling quartet shared 38 overs between them, giving away 176 runs while taking four wickets, but most importantly keeping Pakistan batters quiet in the middle overs.
This was not the first time 38 or more overs were shared between the spinners in the tournament. Afghanistan themselves did it against the same opposition in the previous edition of the World Cup in England when four spinners tried to defend 230 against Pakistan, only to see Imad Wasim take the game away from them in Leeds.
For head coach Jonathan Trott, the problem of plenty regarding the spin attack became an opportunity in the most spin-friendly conditions of Chennai. “When you have got the options like we do, it’s foolish not to use them, certainly when looking at that pitch today, but we have got to make sure we don’t overdo it,” he told the media after Afghanistan’s first-ever win in the ODI format against Pakistan. The former England international was especially in high praise of the WC debutant, Noor. “The way Noor came in (today) was great and I thought the way he bowled, the sky is the limit for him.
He would have been nervous but as soon as he got that length right, (he succeeded). He spins the ball so much. When you are standing up when he’s practicing, you hear that ball fizzing. It’s a real talent for such a young lad to be able to get that many revs on the ball and spin it the amount he does. I say to him just keep spinning it as much as you can. (I am) happy for him,” his coach was grinning ear to ear, while also acknowledging the importance of the other three prongs of the spin attack — Rashid Khan, Mohammed Nabi, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Being part of this group was always going to be the challenge, but Noor has always been aware of the weight his seniors carry in the bowling lineup. “Getting a chance in the playing XI where Mujeeb, Nabi and Rashid play is very tough when you are playing for Afghanistan,” a cheerful Noor told the media in Chennai. “Somehow I got the chance to play. I just wanted to deliver my best. We (spinners) are always together in practice and matches, I have always received help from them,” he said.
If Afghanistan used their spin arsenal to its fullest, Pakistan only used 21 overs of spin in the second innings. With Mohammed Nawaz missing out, Shadab Khan made the playing XI, to boost the spin department for the side, but that hardly made any difference. “We are lacking consistency with the ball, not just in the spin department. Right now, the bowlers are finding it hard to settle. The teams we have played against so far were all good players of spin, so if you are not on, you are going to find it tough to crawl back,” Morne Morkel, Pakistan’s bowling coach had said after their loss against Australia in Bengaluru.
The same problems continued for Pakistan in Chennai against Afghanistan, and they were clueless about how to stop the flow of runs. In those 21 overs, Pakistan spinners gave away 131 runs and could not take a single wicket. Some of the fielding mishaps did help the Afghans as they continued to pile on runs in the chase.
Iftikhar Ahmed, the most economical Pakistan spinner from the day summed up what Afghanistan managed to do better in the contest. “I think, they (Afghan Spinners) bowled less bad balls. And in comparison, we bowled many of those bad balls. When you get hit on the bad ball early in the over, it affects the rest of your bowling in that over because of that extra pressure. They bowled way better than what we could do,” he added. And the results are there for everyone to see.
On the day when India mourned the loss of Bedi, their own spin wizard who inspired many generations to take up spin bowling, Afghanistan won their third-ever WC fixture. None of the Afghan spinners were even born when Bedi hung up his boots.
Perhaps it's poetic that on one of the most spin-friendly pitches of the tournament, in front of one of the most friendly crowds, Afghanistan paid tribute to the legend by creating their piece of history.
