Why does it so happen that a team with the least expectations almost beats a team with the most expectations? Why does a team perceived as “underdogs” perform like a champion? Well these, and many other questions is what makes cricket one of the most beautiful games in the world. If you have watched yesterday’s epic India vs Afghanistan World Cup match, you would definitely feel this emotion.
Going into the game, India were the undoubted favourites to win the contest. And why not? Afterall, the Men in Blue were one of the only two unbeaten teams in the contest. On the other, you had debutants Afghanistan who had, quite contrastingly, lost all their opening matches.
The Game
However, the Rose Bowl, surprisingly turned out to be a slow track and the Afghani spinners capitalized well. Mystery spinner Mujeeb-ur-Rahman drew the first blood, bowling last match’s centurion Rohit Sharma for a paltry 1 runs. India kept losing wickets regularly, and with the exception of Virat Kohli (67) and Kedar Jadhav (52), everyone finished with a sub-30 score. It felt as though the Indians had underestimated their humble Asian counterparts. The Men in Blue finished with a score of 224/8 which is really an irony considering they were entering the contest having scored back-to-back 300+ knocks against a team who had just conceded almost 400 to England!
Second innings was a classic chase on cards. Although Afghanistan kept on losing wickets at regular intervals, they were somehow moving close towards the target. Rahmat Shah (36) and Hashmatullah Shahidi (21) built a crucial partnership and the match seemed to slip slowly out of India’s hand. However, Virat Kohli pulled out his ace – Jasprit Bumrah – at just the right time. The World’s No.1 ODI bowler lived up to his expectations and turned around the match by scalping two wickets in one over to send both the set batsmen back in the hut.
Although Mohammad Nabi (52) fought till the end, it was a long call for him. His name sake, Mohammed Shami shone at the other end, picking up a hattrick towards the end as India won by 40 runs.
Twitter went gaga over the valiant show put up by Afghanistan. Here are some of the top-notch tweets:
India vs Afghanistan Twitter Reactions
India to Afghanistan Now.! #INDvAFG pic.twitter.com/QYEhDGPT4e
— satya._.vachan (@satya___vachan) June 22, 2019
Meanwhile at home #INDvAFG pic.twitter.com/6GR3J9I1pV
— Alaviya Shaikh (@AlaviyaS) June 22, 2019
Long live India-Afghanistan friendship. Sending lots of love from India ?????? #INDvAFG #INDvsAFG #AFGvIND pic.twitter.com/kqKZjvzFRC
— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) June 22, 2019
That Afghanistan have given India the biggest scarenin the WC so far (India having played SA, Aus, Pak ) shows how much has Afghanistan cricket grown in the last couple of years. They will only grow better and can be very proud of themselves. #INDvAFG
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) June 22, 2019
Amul finally saved today???#INDvAFG pic.twitter.com/JElHHQ6fyI
— Bhanuja (csk??) (@missbj) June 22, 2019
A great game of cricket, arguably the best of the #CWC19.
Loved the spirit shown by Afghanistan.
Bumrah & Shami were absolutely amazing & Chahal getting Rashid’s wicket was the difference at the end. Crucial spells by Hardik & Kuldeep.
It was a good test for ??.#INDvAFG pic.twitter.com/dbYJNMQKdt— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) June 22, 2019
What did i just see ?#INDvAFG pic.twitter.com/dPwUu3XV0q
— Bidisha Ghosh?? (@Tiiyaaaaaa) June 22, 2019
Humne duniya me mohobat ka asar Zinda kiya hai : @DrKumarVishwas ??????@ACBofficials you guys are winning ? well played guys #INDvAFG pic.twitter.com/yumSao5dFl
— Bikash Pandey (@bikash2512) June 22, 2019
Afghanistan dominated India (World Number 2) throughout a World Cup game. That’s a win in itself. You can celebrate tonight @ACBofficials ? #INDvAFG
— Manak Gupta (@manakgupta) June 22, 2019
Bangladesh winning hearts with their performance.
Afghanistan winning hearts with their performance.
Pakistan BURGER, PIZZA, YAWNING! #INDvAFG pic.twitter.com/vIMQN1ZqWj
— Santh Kumar (@santhgogikar) June 22, 2019
They fought till the end and never gave up. Missed by just 11 runs. India won the match, Afghanistan won our hearts. ?? #AfghanAtalan #INDvAFG #INDvsAFG #AFGvIND pic.twitter.com/nYQCaIBbEi
— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) June 22, 2019
Afganistan team
expectation reality#INDvAFG #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/TkZnainM1k— d J ? (@djaywalebabu) June 22, 2019
Afghanistan
1. Expectations
2. Reality#INDvAFG pic.twitter.com/WXQzcRae3W— Sagar (@sagarcasm) June 22, 2019
Series of Events#INDvAFG pic.twitter.com/RNtVjY2o3a
— Brahma (@dTweetOfBrahma) June 22, 2019
#CWC19#INDvAFG
Shami takes hat-trick..
Hasin jahan to her lawyer.. pic.twitter.com/ecldohmzhw— Aam Insan (@gustakhi_maf) June 22, 2019
#Nabi !!! Thank you for teaching India a few things, including sportsman spirit #INDvAFG
— Jyoti Malhotra (@jomalhotra) June 22, 2019
When #Dhoni meets bowler in last over.#INDvAFG pic.twitter.com/rp8p9ymfgD
— Gulshan Laassi (@gulshanlassi) June 22, 2019
Take a bow, Afghanistan. You made the world’s best sweat, and sweat hard. #INDvAFG
— Abhijit Majumder (@abhijitmajumder) June 22, 2019
