Mujeeb Ur Rahman smiled apologetic. Nobody knew
exactly what he was waiting for at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association
Stadium in Dharamsala. But it was obvious when Mujeeb released the drawstring
from his trousers. Mujeeb had neglected to wear his box, and it was about the
object that substitute outfield Abdul Rahman was holding as he ran out and gave
it away forever.
It was a fun moment that brought smiles to the faces
of the players on both teams and laughs to the commentary booth. Nevertheless,
it also served as a metaphor for Afghanistan’s six-wicket loss to Bangladesh in
their opening World Cup game in 2023: despite their skill, this was a team
lacking in attention to detail.
They also got in front of Bangladesh’s pursuit
quickly. Tanzim Hasan was almost out of his ground at the non-striker’s end
when Najibullah Zadran’s direct hit from backward point connected with him, and
Fazalhaq Farooqi forced Litton Das into a chop-on. Even though the target was
only 157, Afghanistan had Bangladesh under some strain when they reached 27 for
2 in the seventh over and Rashid Khan was yet to bowl.
“We just had soft dismissals, really,”
Jonathan Trott, their head coach, said. “Guys giving their wicket away,
and going against what we had as a game plan. We got close to where we wanted
to be, playing in the warm-up games, but it’s about dealing with the pressure
of World Cup cricket and playing in major tournaments. That’s where we fell
short today.
“The middle order needs to take more responsibility;
but also, if there’s momentum in the game, try and wrestle it back. It just
seemed to go all Bangladesh’s way. No one stayed there and tried to absorb some
pressure. It seemed to be one-dimensional, a little bit. That’s something we’ve
got to work on.”