Rain denies Afghanistan fairytale, but Australia’s heavyweight status is in no doubt

It might not have been a pitch as flat as the ones we have seen at Gadaffi Stadium so far this tournament, with an average of nearly 340 runs scored per innings in the two previous games. After Azmatullah Omarzai’s late fireworks took them to 273, perhaps Afghanistan could have still made a match out of it with a good bowling and fielding performance. But, after stressing pre-match about curtailing mistakes and doing the basics right, Afghanistan were sloppy. And Travis Head, as he tends to when luck is on his side, made them pay, racing to a 40-ball 59 after being dropped on 6.

Rashid Khan spilled a routine catch for Head’s wicket at mid-on, and the southpaw sent one flying over fine leg for a six on the very next ball to rub salt into Fazalhaq Farooqi’s wound. There was a misfield in the same over as well that went for four. In Farooqi’s next over, Head hit three fours and Afghanistan’s body language said a story. There would have been flashbacks to Mumbai in November 2023, when Maxwell was dropped before pulling off a heist with a double century. With a hat-trick of fours against Omarzai, the run-chase was broken in the powerplay as they posted 90/1.

Early Test with a capital T

The first powerplay earlier in the day couldn’t have been starker. Australia and Afghanistan haven’t ever played a Test match, and won’t do so anytime soon. But the first few overs of this match in Lahore resembled one. The Australian pacers, under overcast conditions with the floodlights on in the afternoon, hooped the new balls around significantly, and Steve Smith set fields that wouldn’t have been out of place in a red-ball encounter Down Under.

Bowling the first over, Spencer Johnson did his best Mitchell Starc impression. Full, moving back in late, and underneath Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s bat… timber. The dismissal left Gurbaz stunned, as he stood at the crease for a good minute before starting to walk back, still trying to figure out what had just happened.

Afghanistan have been clear with their plan that they will bat first when possible because that’s how they believe they can maximise their chances. The plan looked like it was going to backfire.

After the first six overs Afghanistan had missed more deliveries than they hit (15 to 14). It was a proper early Test, with a capital T. But Sediqullah Atal, after riding his luck, played a brilliant hand at No 3. He got going with an expansive cover drive for four in the sixth as the swing started to subside. Ibrahim Zadran too started to find some rhythm, and Australia’s inability to be consistent with their lines, saw Afghanistan reach 54/1 – a much better start than they managed against England.

Under par total

But that’s when the mistakes started piling up with the bat too. After weathering that early storm, Zadran cut a rank short ball from Adam Zampa in his first over, straight to Marnus Labuschagne at backward point. Then Glenn Maxwell got rid of Rahmat Shah and just like that, Australia gained control.

Sediq reached a half century with a six off Maxwell over deep midwicket. But with captain Hashmatullah Shahidi struggling for any sort of momentum (striking at under 50), all the attacking onus fell on the 24-year-old leftie. After a couple of sloppy errors (one missed review and a run-out chance), Smith brought back Johnson and took a sharp catch diving forward to end Sediq’s knock on 85.

Mohammed Nabi and Gulbadin Naib’s dismissals could also be best described as unforced errors. Omarzai produced some sumptuous shots: a 103m six down the ground — almost like Virat Kohli’s famous hit against Haris Rauf – and a 102m six over midwicket were standout moments. But 273 never felt enough.

“I think today was a bad day for me as a batsman, I will speak with the coach about where I went wrong because I think that was, strike rate-wise, a slow innings. But I will learn from today,” Shahidi said post-match. “And yeah about, you never know, yes we still have hopes and we are waiting for the next game, hopefully, England win big,” he added with a big smile. Even in a game of glorious uncertainties, however, a 200-run margin defeat for South Africa seems unlikely.

Brief scores: Afghanistan 273 (Atal 85, Omarzai 67, Dwarshuis 3-47, Zampa 2-48, Johnson 2-49) vs Australia 109 for 1 (Head 59*, Omarzai 1-43). Match abandoned due to rain.