The biggest surprise in the 2023 World Cup is undoubtedly Afghanistan. They have won 4 out of 7 matches so far. They lost to three former world champions – England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. After defeating the Netherlands last time to rise to fifth in the points list, the Afghans also brightened their chances of playing in the semi-finals.
But these Afghans started the World Cup by losing against Bangladesh. After that, the Afghans turned around, but Bangladesh lost the next 6 matches and was knocked out first. Former Indian cricketer and cricket analyst Akash Chopra feels that the loss of that first match was a real accident after seeing such a great form of Afghanistan.
After losing to Bangladesh by 6 wickets, Afghans lost their second match against India. Then they start to surprise by defeating the current world champions England. Even though they lost to New Zealand, they won the next three matches, all by runs!
Afghans have won 5 of the 22 matches played so far in the World Cup. 4 of which came in this World Cup! What’s more, so far in this World Cup, after India (5), Afghanistan has won the most runs in chase (3). And Bangladesh is on the opposite path. After the first match, they lost all the matches. They even lost to fellow ICC member Netherlands. As a result, Afghans have proved that they are definitely a better team than Bangladesh in this World Cup. Even if they won that match, the semi-final would have already been confirmed for them. According to Akash Chopra, the victory of Bangladesh is the biggest event of the tournament.
Akash wrote on the social networking site ‘Ek’, ‘Afghanistan’s loss to Bangladesh is the real event of this year’s World Cup. Which is Bangladesh’s only win in this World Cup so far. Had Afghanistan started the World Cup with a win, they would have reached the semi-finals today (yesterday). ‘
Afghanistan, ranked fifth so far with 8 points from 7 matches, still have two matches to play. In the two matches, their opponents are Australia and South Africa. Afghans need to win both matches to advance to the semis. However, even if they win one, they have the possibility of being in fourth place with 10 points.
Bangladesh Time: 1244 hours, November 04, 2023
MHM
