“They collapse if their openers don’t do well” – Aakash Chopra on Afghanistan’s area of concern before semifinal against South Africa

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has noted that Afghanistan collapse when their openers don’t give them a good start. While Rahmanullah Gurbaz has scored 281 runs in seven games, which is the most in the tournament, Ibrahim Zadran has amassed 229 runs in as many matches, which is the third-highest in the T20I showpiece.

But apart from their openers, the middle order has failed to deliver the goods. The next highest run-getter for Afghanistan after their openers is Azmatullah Omarzai, who has scored 101 runs in seven matches at an average of 14.42.

Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “Afghanistan have a good team that has been playing with great passion. Their bowling is excellent and that’s where they will try to catch South Africa. They remain in low-scoring, 120 to 140-run, matches. In batting, you feel the gap has widened on a flat pitch. They come closer when it’s not a flat pitch.”

“However, they are overly dependent on their openers. If Gurbaz and Zadran do well, this team is able to score runs with confidence. However, they collapse if their openers don’t do well. Gulbadin Naib has played one knock down the order. No one else has scored runs. They have moved players up and down the order and in and out of the team but the runs haven’t come,” the former India opener added.

The renowned commentator believes Afghanistan could find themselves in trouble if they loss early wickets against South Africa.

“So batting is a concern, how they will negotiate the fast bowling, especially the new ball. If they become 20/2, they might be restricted to 110-115 once again. They have won all low-scoring games but they might find themselves on the wrong side of the result in this low-scoring game because this pitch might not be that much to their liking,” he elaborated.

The former Delhi player lauded Afghanistan’s bowling line-up. Fazalhaq Farooqi is the leading wicket-taker with 16 wickets in seven matches whereas Rashid Khan and Naveen-ul-Haq have snared 14 and 13 wickets respectively.

​​”However, what works in their favor – bowling. Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq are at the top of their game suddenly. This World Cup has been in their names. Then come Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad. Gulbadin Naib does his job and they have Mohammad Nabi. So this team has an incredible bowling lineup,” he observed in the same video.

The former right-hander also noted that Afghanistan has a fighting spirit in themselves as they don’t throw in the towel easily.

“They have one more thing. They don’t get scared. They are fighters. They say this is just a World Cup game, they have battled life. When such a team doesn’t have anything to lose, they have the entire world to gain. They also know the Afghanistan public doesn’t get much to be happy about and if they do well, they will become very happy. So there is a larger purpose to play,” Chopra elaborated.

Afghanistan will face South Africa at the Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad on Wednesday.