Afghanistan would have triumphed if Mohammad Nabi had batted for an additional four or five overs: Wasim Jaffer

In the Asia Cup game that may have meant the difference between victory and defeat, Sri Lanka, the defending champions, were on the verge of being eliminated when Afghanistan sadly lost. By a margin of two runs, the Lankan Lions prevailed, leaving Hashmatullah Shahidi’s team defeated. Notably, Afghanistan had to chase 292 runs in 37.1 overs to make the Super Four. Even though he and Mohammad Nabi played some outstanding cricket, the captain was unable to lead the squad across the finish line.

Nabi’s 65 runs off 32 deliveries in particular altered the course of the game. His firing ultimately contributed to Afghanistan losing despite the fact that he had brought his squad quite near to the goal. Wasim Jaffer, a former India international, said that if he had continued to bat for a few more overs, he could have led his team to victory.

“Whether it was pace or spin, Mohammad Nabi had responses for anything Sri Lanka threw at him. He then began removing barriers and displaying his knowledge. On these types of occasions, you kind of want your senior players to stand up. They would have won if he had batted for four or five more overs, Jaffer told ESPNcricinfo.

This proves that knowledge cannot be valued: Farveez Mahroof, formerly of Sri Lanka Farveez Mahroof praised Mohammad Nabi and said that it is impossible to value the experience.

This proves that knowledge cannot be valued. Some of the shots he made through cover and extra cover are priceless; after all, the days of aiming for cow corner or long on when you want to hit a six are long gone. “Hitting over extra cover looks so simple these days with the pitches being so true,” remarked Mahroof.

The Afghanistan team will take a break after being eliminated from the Asia Cup and resume training in India before to the ODI World Cup, which is scheduled to start on October 5. Before playing their opening match against Bangladesh on October 7, they will play a few of exhibition matches against South Africa (September 29) and Sri Lanka (October 3).