The SL vs. AFG Asia Cup 2023 fixture on Tuesday turned out to be a nail-bitter as the Afgan clan lost the fixture by two runs & bowed out of the tournament. Afghanistan was tasked to chase 291 runs within 37 overs to stay alive in the Super 4 race. However, they were bowled out for 289 runs in 37.4 overs & were ultimately out of the tournament. But the real drama unfolded after the fixture when a Controversy over NRR arose with the Afghans claiming that they were not aware of the exact calculations needed to qualify for the Super 4 stage.
How this NRR Controversy unfolded in the SL vs. AFG Clash
The Afghan clan was trying to reach the target of 292 runs within 37.1 overs which would provide them an edge over Sri lanka in terms of NRR. But they were not aware that they had a chance of qualifying for the Super 4 stage even after they failed to recah the target of 292 runs in 37.1 overs. After 37 overs, Afghanistan was 289 for 8 & the qualification criteria was that they had to score three runs off one ball to win the clash which will better their NRR than Sri lanka.
On the bowling of De Silva, Mujeeb Ur Rahman went for a big shot but was caught on the long-on boundary. The Afghan clan thought they were out of the tournament with Rashid Khan bowling on his knees. But in reality that was not the case, they still had a chance to qualify for the tournament if they reached 293 runs after 37.2 overs, 294 runs after 37.3 overs, 295 runs after 37.5 overs, 296 after 38 overs or 297 runs after 38.1 overs. Unfortunately, the Afghanistan Clan was not aware of this equation.
What was Head Coach Jonathan Trott’s take on the NRR Controversy?
After the conclusion of the fixture, Head Coach of Afghanistan, Jonathan Trott claimed that the Match Officials didn’t communicate about it with them.
“We were never communicated those calculations. All we were communicated was we needed to win in 37.1 overs. We weren’t told what the overs in which we could get 295 or 297. [That we could win in] 38.1 overs was never communicated to us,”
Trott said.
In reality, teams rely on the Match officials for getting the information on NRR. But to a large extent, it’s brought to the team by their own set of analysts. Trott didn’t blame everything on the Match Officials for their exit from the tournament. He said that their bowlers could have done better & restricted opponents to a low score.
Jonathan Trott, the Afghanistan Coach, emphasized that the defeat was a result of several factors. Trott noted that there were opportunities for improvement in various aspects of their gameplay, both in the recent match and their previous encounter with Bangladesh. He highlighted significant shortcomings in different critical areas, which ultimately had a detrimental impact on the team’s performance. He expressed a desire for a more economical bowling performance but acknowledged that unfortunately, things didn’t turn out the way they had hoped.
SL vs. AFG: Afghans suffered a setback despite a fightback from tailenders
Coming to the clash, riding on the back of top performances from Nissanka (41 off 40), Karunaratne (32 off 35) & Kusal Mendis (92 off 84) Sri lanka reached a competitive total of 291-8 in 50 overs. Afghanistan bowlers failed to restrict their run-flow as expect Gulbadin Naib (4/60) and Rashid Khan (2/63) none of their bowlers could actually step up & deliver.
In reply in the chase of 292, Afghanistan lost openers resulting in a major setback. However, the middle order showed some fightback with Naib (22 off 16), Rahmat (25 off 40), Shahidi (59 off 6) & Nabi (65 in 32) posting decent scores on board. But after 37 overs things changed ultimately as Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman got dismissed in the 37.1 overs & due to lack of awareness about the Qualification criteria, The batter on strike Fazalhaq defended two balls & eventually got LBW on the third delivery ending Afghanistan’s innings at 289-10 in 37.4 overs. With this stunning two-run win Sri Lanka marched into the Super 4 stage of Asia Cup 2023. The sadness of losing a closely fought fixture was visible on Rashid & entire Afghanistan team’s faces.
Meanwhile, Sri lanka after winning the fixture has qualified for the Super 4 stage. Asia Cup 2023 got its four Super 4 teams with Bangaldesh & Sri Lanka qualifying from Group A while India & Pakistan have qualified from Group B. The first fixture of the Super 4 stage of Asia Cup 2023 will be played between Pakistan & Bangladesh.
Also read, KL Rahul, Shardul makes a cut in India’s World Cup Squad
