PUNE: On 23rd October, Hashmatullah Shahidi smashed Shaheen Shah Afridi for a four to register Afghanistan's first-ever victory over Pakistan in the ODI format. Some 350 kilometers away from Chepauk, three days later, Pathum Nissanka's six over long-on stretched Sri Lanka's dominance over their much-fancied opponents, England, in WCs for another four years. On Monday, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka will be trying to outplay each other in Pune.
"I am already thinking about plans for Sri Lanka," declared Jonathan Trott, Afghanistan's head coach after his side stunned Pakistan in Chennai. Why wouldn't he? His four-pronged spin attack, including Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad made life difficult for Pakistan's middle order. It felt like Pakistan left a few runs out there in the first innings. If Pakistan's batters found it hard to negotiate the spin, their bowlers were in more of a challenge. Everyone other than Hasan Ali went for more than five runs per over. Afghanistan paced their inning to perfection and sealed the victory in the 49th over. "(During the innings break) I said, we're not going to be able to win this game in 35-40 overs. We're going to have to bat well for 50 overs. And we broke it down to 10-over splits," Trott informed. That patience in batting, even in the face of one of the most formidable bowling units in the competition, got Afghanistan over the line.
For Sri Lanka, it was about two back-to-back wins after being on the wrong side of the result despite some exceptional individual performances. Their win against Netherlands in Lucknow, where they finally put two points on the points table, gave them the confidence they needed. But another challenge was waiting for them in Bengaluru against defending champions England. If Afghanistan came back in the game courtesy of their four spinners, Sri Lanka never let go of the pressure they built against England.
After a quick opening partnership of 45 runs, England lost all ten wickets for 111 runs in the next 27 overs. Even with Chris Woakes bowling bullets and David Willey taking early wickets, Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama perfected the chase as Sri Lanka continued their upward march in the points table. Both teams have momentum they will carry from their previous matches, and also the recent history to look at. "We have played Afghanistan quite a bit during the Asia Cup recently. And we've won and lost as well. So, I would say it depends on how you go about the day," Sri Lanka Assistant Coach Naveed Nawaz said on the eve of the match in Pune.
The last time these two sides faced each other, fans witnessed a close finish in Lahore with Sri Lanka coming on top by just two runs. The WC has now witnessed two nail biters in Chennai and Dharamshala, after starting off with many one-sided encounters. Crowd in Pune would not mind another on Monday.
