Afghanistan have played 11 ODIs this year and won only three, with most of the eight losses being one-sided.
Afghanistan have played 11 ODIs this year and won only three, with most of the eight losses being one-sided. Three 80+ runs and two 7 or more wickets defeats paint a troubling picture for the team, with the World Cup not far. They have lost their previous six games on a trot, including a winless Asia Cup 2023 campaign.
Afghanistan have plenty of concerns for them as they enter the mega event, but a slow start with the bat is arguably the most prominent trouble. Not only do they start slow, but the Afghan batters also lose their wickets more often and leave plenty for the middle order. It has been a trend throughout this year.
In the powerplay, Afghanistan have lost two or more wickets in the first ten overs in five innings, which makes 45.45% of their total matches this year. They have lost four or more wickets thrice among those five innings. So, Afghanistan crumbled before they even started motoring along consistently.
Among all the World Cup sides, Afghanistan have the worst average (19.05) and strike rate (57.73) in the powerplay this year. Their batters are dismissed every 33 balls on average. They also take the most deliveries (12) for every boundary; the second-worst is Pakistan (9.18).
Afghanistan have faced 70.94% dot balls in the first field restriction, the worst among all the World Cup sides. In fact, they are the only team to play more than 70% of balls without scoring any runs. Bangladesh, with 67.54%, are the second-worst in the list.
On average, Afghanistan play around 42 dots every innings; that’s 70% of total powerplay deliveries. They score only around 35 runs per innings, again the lowest among the ten sides in 2023. Afghanistan’s score has been fewer than 40 in six games, constituting 54.54% of their matches.
Also Read: Which team has the best batting line-up for the 2023 World Cup?
The strike rates of all their top-order batters have been below par in the powerplay. Among all the players from the World Cup teams with a minimum of 100 balls, Rahmuanullah Gurbaz (51.03) has the second-worst, Rahmat Shah (62) has the fourth-worst, whereas Ibrahim Zadran (64.68) has the sixth-worst strike rate in the powerplay this year. They all start at a sedate pace.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz averages 17.71, the fourth-worst, whereas Rahmat Shah averages 20.67, the sixth-worst in the mentioned filter. Ibrahim Zadran sits in the seventh position, along with Babar Azam and Devon Conway, with an average of 26.
Gurbaz loses his wicket in the powerplay 63.63% of the time, whereas Ibrahim Zadran has been 45.45% in this phase in 2023. Rahmat Shah’s figures stand at 42.85%. Neither have they preserved their wickets nor provided brisk starts early on.
The massive defeats against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Hambantota were mainly due to losing early wickets. Afghanistan lost so many batters in the powerplay that they couldn’t make a return in those matches.
The chart below shows a worrying trend for the Afghanistan team. Both openers and Rahmat Shah commence their innings at a tepid rate while also playing too many dot balls. Their scoring rate is shocking, while their dot balls are above acceptable. While Ibrahim Zadran has done reasonably well, the other two batters have been mediocre in every aspect.
In the first 15 deliveries, Rahmanullah Gurbaz plays around 74.64% dot balls while taking around 20.28 balls for every boundary. Rahmat Shah faces 75% of deliveries without any run while finding ropes every 20 balls. Ibrahim Zadran’s scoring and boundary-hitting rate are relatively better, but even he wastes 73.23% of his deliveries.
Afghanistan’s top order has been way more ordinary than the other teams in this World Cup. Collectively, Afghanistan’s top three have the second-worst average (33.75) and the worst strike rate (78.65) in the ODIs this year. The overall contribution of runs by their top order is higher than the other teams because their middle and lower middle order have also massively underperformed.
The competition in the World Cup will be intense, and Afghanistan’s top order has clearly not been consistent enough to compete with the higher-ranked teams. Rahmanullah Gurbaz has blown hot and cold, while Rahmat Shah has barely inspired confidence. In fact, the team had to drop Rahmat after a string of low scores.
Afghanistan should strike a balance between risk-taking and wicket preservation, especially in the powerplay. Their middle and lower order is fragile, as an average of 19.24 and a strike rate of 81.84 – both the worst – shows. As such, the top order has to be more consistent and quicker than it has been so far to stand any chance in the global event.
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