'It's like winning,' says Shahzad, KL Rahul terms tie unforgettable

Dubai: Afghanistan may have ended the Super Four phase of Asia Cup 2018 without a victory, but that didn't diminish what they managed against India on Tuesday.To hold India to a tie in the manner that they did was "a really proud moment for my team and me," said Asghar Afghan, their captain.

More than pride, it was the fact that they had managed something historic that will stay with 

the side. "We've played good cricket in Asia Cup," said Afghan. "The way we've finished today, 

I am proud. Credit goes to the guys."

"It's a history for Afghanistan because we have never played such cricket before in Asia 

Cup," he said.It was an extraordinary night at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. For the most part, it seemed India ? the only unbeaten side in the six-team tournament ? were on course for another comprehensive win.

But the Indians still managed to chip away at the other end, and the momentum all seemed 

to be with No.2 side in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings. Eventually, Mohammad 

Nabi's 56-ball 64 from No.7 pushed the total to 252/8, but it still didn't seem a potent total, 

even with Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman to restrict the batsmen,  an ICC report on 

Wednesday said.

When KL Rahul and Ambati Rayudu, India's new-look opening pair, then added a solid 110 

for the opening wicket, it seemed another one-sided victory in India's favour was on the cards.

That was the impression even when Mohammad Shahzad, the Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman, blazed away, hammering a 116-ball 124 ? the knock comprised 11 

fours and seven sixes, and he tore apart the Indian bowlers.

But Afghanistan unleashed their troika of spinners in the middle overs, and that changed 

everything ? Rayudu fell to Nabi for a 49-ball 57 in the 18th and, three overs later, Khan had 

Rahul walking back for a 66-ball 60.

There was a wicket every other over thereafter, even as Dinesh Karthik slowly strung 

together a 66-ball 44. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, and then 

Karthik himself were sent back one after the other, and by the 40th over, India were 205/6.

 At that point, it seemed Afghanistan were on course for victory, with their spinners on 

song and only the tail to contend with. But Ravindra Jadeja struck a 34-ball 25, dragging 

the chase with him.

It came down to a matter of seven runs from the last over. Jadeja slog-swept and got 

himself four. A single then levelled the scores.It was the penultimate delivery, India needed a run to win. Jadeja got one short of length from Khan, and he looked to pull. Mistimed ? it was caught at mid-wicket, and that was that. The game was tied.

It was akin to a win for Afghanistan, according to their captain, and the fact that India had 

their head in their hands while the Afghans did all the celebrating was telling. "Yeah, when you tie with a team like India, it's like winning," said Afghan. "They usually chase easily. It is good for the fans as well," he said.

Shahzad, however, wasn't a fan of the tie. "Actually, I'm not happy with the result: hot 

weather, playing in the ground for six hours, it's not fair," he said, after accepting his Player 

of the Match award."I had planned to hit every ball today because we are leaving tomorrow. So I saw the ball, and hit it today. Feeling proud to have played against some good teams of Asia, so happy with my innings.

Dubai: India opener KL Rahul reflected on a thrilling tie against Afghanistan 

in India's last Super Four match at the Asia Cup 2018, saying the game will stay in the 

players' memories for a long time.

The game in Dubai on Tuesday, 25 September went down to the wire, ending in a 

dramatic tie.Afghanistan scored 252/8, courtesy Mohammad Shahzad's magnificent 116-ball 124 and a quick 64 from Mohammad Nabi.

In their chase, India were off to a solid start with Rahul (60) and Ambati Rayudu (57) 

adding 110 runs for the first wicket. Dinesh Karthik scored 44 from No 3, but then came 

the stutter, and India were bowled out for 252 off the last ball of the game, an ICC report

on Wednesday said.

Rayudu was the first to fall, and was followed soon after by Rahul, who failed in his 

attempt to reverse-sweep Rashid Khan and was trapped lbw. Rahul reviewed that 

decision, only to find that the ball would have gone on to hit the stumps, thereby 

exhausting India's only review that could have been used later.

In hindsight, the 26-year-old felt he could have avoided rit. "It's very tricky when you 

have just one review with you," said Rahul after the match. "Obviously, looking back at 

it, I felt like I shouldn't have taken the review but at that time, in the middle, I felt like 

maybe I was struck outside and I wanted to take that chance."

"Sometimes you can sit back here and review the review you took and say maybe 

you could have left it to the guys at the end but I felt like I could have been struck 

outside so I took that chance," he said.

"We learn with it. The shot I played, the review that I took, I'll have to go back and 

maybe if it happens again I'll be in a better position to know what to do," Rahul said.

India were on track in their chase, with Karthik batting well, but his dismissal 

changed things as the middle order struggled to stay at the crease in the face of some 

disciplined bowling by Afghanistan. 

MS Dhoni, Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav could not occupy the crease for long, 

and only Ravindra Jadeja, who hit 25, helped India take the game deep. Rashid Khan, 

however, defended six runs in the last over.

 "I don't think we crumbled," argued Rahul. "When the ball starts slowing up and spinning 

like that, it is hard for middle order batsmen to come in and get the runs going. I think DK 

played really well, few good partnerships with Kedar and, in the end, Jadeja and Deepak 

Chahar put up a decent fight."

"So on wickets like this, I think as an opening batsman when we've got a start like that 

we are backing ourselves to finish the game and not let the middle-order guys struggle in 

the middle," he said.

Conceding that the slowness of the surface makes it hard for new batsmen to get going, 

Rahul said, "On a slow wicket when you come in to bat, it's very hard to get the strike 

moving and get the boundaries."      

"That puts a lot of pressure on them. It's not an easy job on wickets like this. I don't think 

it's such a massive concern. We know the kind of talent and experience that we have in the 

middle-order. It is about time that they come good," he said.

Rahul was full of praise for Afghanistan, saying that the close encounter "will stay in our 

memories for a long time".  "In the past two-three years, we have seen how much improvement as a team Afghanistan have made," Rahul said.

 "We've seen likes of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Nabi... all these guys play in the 

IPL  and still performing and they played around the world in different franchises," he said."Overall, as a team, in the present times, we can't look at Afghanistan as if they will walk 

over. They are very competitive as a one-day and T20 side. They keep proving it over and 

over again. The way they played today, it was really exciting," Rahul said.

"As a cricketer, you'd want to be part of such games where both teams compete till the 

end and if the result would have gone in our favour then we would have been happier but 

nonetheless, we're still happy to have played a game like this and it will stay in our memories 

for a long time," he added.(UNI)