As Afghanistan commences its preparations for the T20 World Cup this year, their subdued optimism is difficult to fault. They achieved this indulgence due to a series of fortunate events that transpired in India just a few months prior, during the 50-over World Cup. They not only won four of their last nine league games but were on the verge of advancing to the round of sixteen.
Jonathan Trott, who presided over the remarkable performance and secured an extension of his contract as head coach until the T20 World Cup in June, reaffirms that his team is capable of “beating anyone” – a sentiment he renownedly reiterated prior to their momentous triumph over England in New Delhi the previous year.
In order for that prophecy to be fulfilled once more, Afghanistan must make restitution. Notwithstanding their 158/5 (in Mohali) and 172 (in Indore) scores, they enter the Bengaluru match 0-2 down and are entrusted with achieving batting consistency.
“It’s a combination of all of that [batting long and batting with a better strike rate]. I think we need our in batters going into the last 10 [overs]. We have seen how hard it is to stop in batters in the last five overs,” Trott said on January 16 (Tuesday).
“We did well in Mohali, in the last 10 overs to get 110 runs, I think for just two wickets, you can’t ask for anything more. But in Indore, in the middle nine overs, we went at six an over after the PowerPlay building up to the last 4-5 overs. So again, it is those areas, where we do well in one game and then we don’t do well in the next. We need to do it more if you want to compete over a series or a World Cup. So that’s the challenge but also the exciting bit that if we get those things right, we can beat anybody,” he added.
Afghanistan entered India following a series victory over the UAE by a score of 2-1, during which the aforementioned inconsistency resurfaced. Two days after amassing 200 runs in the opening match, which they won comfortably by 72 runs, they were defeated in the pursuit for 167. Ultimately, they secured the series, albeit not before exerting considerable effort and effort. Trott aspires for Afghanistan to build upon the positive momentum it gained during the Asia Cup and three bilateral series (against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan) in preparation for the ODI World Cup in 2023. The Tigers have three series remaining in Sharjah, one in Bengaluru, and three in Sri Lanka.
“We haven’t played a lot of T20 cricket recently. As a side we sort of take a while to get going with rhythm. We saw ourselves build up towards the 50-over World Cup with the Asia Cup and the series before that. That’s what I am looking to build up here.
“I think we’re sort of getting better in parts. Hopefully tomorrow [Wednesday] we can get it together. As a side we are fully aware of our stats against the world’s best in batting. In the bowling [department], we are pretty good. We always want to improve on our bowling but with batting there are a few areas to improve consistently, if we want to become that tougher side that competes day in and day out,” Trott said.
