Afghanistan cruise past Sri Lanka in Asian Cup 2022 opener in Dubai

Gulf News

Mr Cricket UAE Anis Sajan and the Gulf News team discuss the opening match of the 2022 Asia Cup which was dominated by Afghanistan. They recorded an eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and looked the hungrier side throughout. The boys also look ahead to the huge India Vs Pakistan match tomorrow.  Read the full story here: https://gulfnews.com/sport/cricket/as-it-happened-clinical-display-by-afghanistan-against-sri-lanka-in-asia-cup-2022-opener-in-dubai-1.1661608582860  See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km  Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV  #UAEnews #cricketnews #asiacup2022

Transcript

00:00Hello and welcome to Gulf News Straight Back. Afghanistan have outclassed Sri Lanka at the

00:14Dubai International Cricket Stadium with an eight-wicket win in the opener of the Asia

00:19Cup 2022 tonight. Let's get straight to the action. Anish Bhai, did you expect that? What

00:24happened to Sri Lanka today?

00:25Thank you, Imran. Hello, Shyam and hello all to the beautiful people of Gulf News. Yes,

00:29Afghanistan has just flown over Sri Lanka. So if you have to ask me what happened to

00:34Sri Lanka, I would say in one line, they did not turn up. You have to give credit to Afghanistan

00:39rather than criticising Sri Lanka. They came with a plan and they just demolished Sri Lanka.

00:44But Anish, how can it be that a team just doesn't turn up tonight? There was I think

00:47three players, I've just seen the scores, who were out for a golden duck. I mean, three

00:52players not even putting on a single run for the team. I mean, why did that happen

00:56tonight?

00:57Sri Lanka is a young team. If you see the stars, they have a couple of players who have

01:02got a lot of experience. Otherwise, they're all young players. And I remember Umar Gul

01:06when he was on chat with me for an exclusive interview for Gulf News. He specifically said

01:11that he's been made as a bowling coach, just to ensure that Afghanistan is not perceived

01:16as a spinner's paradise or a spinner's attack. He wants to show what Afghanistan do with

01:21the pace. And that's what Fazal did. That in the first two hours, he picked up three

01:25wickets and Sri Lanka were tottering by three for three or something. And then they couldn't

01:30come back.

01:31Do you think the conditions had something to do with it tonight, Anish?

01:33You have to say that in the first part, there is something for the bowlers. And last year

01:38also we saw. And batting first is a little bit of a disadvantage. But having said that,

01:43you can't be bowled out for 100.

01:44It is a very low. Let's bring Sham. Shamless, you saw the game. Why do you think Sri Lanka

01:49just never got going today?

01:50The first three wickets actually set them back. When you are two for three, it takes

01:55a real good effort to dig yourself out of that hole, which they seem to do for a while.

02:01Then they lost their head. And they actually threw their wickets away. Two runouts in two

02:05balls, that actually sums up the kind of panic within their rank. Like Anish said about the

02:12inexperience in the side, this is what happens with inexperience. You lose your head. You

02:16just don't seem to find your way out of it. That's precisely what happened to Sri Lanka.

02:20And like Anish said about Afghanistan, let's give credit to Afghanistan. They never allowed

02:26Sri Lanka to wriggle out of that hole.

02:28But Sham, what do you think the tactics were today for Sri Lanka? Was it to just start

02:32to score heavy as quick as they possibly could? They didn't look like they were playing themselves

02:37into the game.

02:38Actually, this is a T20 format. So you have to score big. But the thing is, when you lose

02:42three wickets in the first two overs, basically means you are cooked there. So you really

02:49need a good partnership going, which never came Sri Lanka's way. But it looked at one

02:54point where Raja Bhakta seemed to take charge. But the thing is that his loss actually hit

03:00them badly. And the middle overs, they never could get past the spinners. Because Afghanistan

03:07has some real good spinners in Rajat Khan and Mujibur Rahman and Nabi himself. Although

03:12there was not much purchase for the spinners in today's game. But the thing is, since Sri

03:17Lanka is already on the back foot, they could never launch an assault on the spinners.

03:21You guys both mentioned that Sri Lanka have got an inexperienced team. But do you think

03:26it's a case of Afghanistan producing better cricketers now? Anish, what do you think?

03:30Yes, you have to give it to them. As I mentioned in my opening line, that as much as Sri Lanka

03:35were poor, but Afghanistan were spot on. They came with a plan. They attacked with their

03:39fast bowlers. And like Shyam mentioned, and I did mention, when you are two for three,

03:44it's difficult to come back. And you also asked me one question, Imran, where you said

03:48that it was batting first, a little bit of disadvantage. Sometimes you have to accept

03:52the fact that there's a little bit for the fast bowlers. You give that respect. We saw

03:56what happened in the World Cup last year, where India also lost three wickets to Pakistan

04:00early and then they could hardly recover. So maybe if you can play out the powerplay,

04:04it doesn't mean that if you have a powerplay, you have to go big, bang, bang. If you're

04:0730 for no loss, you can always make up and score a 180. I would, in fact, this is a

04:12signal for both India and Pakistan, come tomorrow, if they lose their toss, don't lose up front

04:17early wickets and then make sure that you recover, not recover, you go bang, bang in

04:21the end and put up a sizable total.

04:23Anish, had you been there tonight at the stadium, what would have been your advice to the players

04:27when you were sending the batsmen out? You know, having seen them coming in for ducks,

04:31golden ducks, what would you have told them? Just, you know, settle down a little bit.

04:34Was there a case of too much nerves in the team today?

04:37You could see that, Imran, you know, because one of the batsmen had not nicked and

04:43unfortunately, the DRS also went against them because once the batsman is given out,

04:47sometimes it goes against you. We would debate on that some other day. But there was panic.

04:52Sri Lanka totally panicked. And as I said, they did not turn up. But having said that,

04:57Afghanistan not only turned up, but they knew their plans, what they had to do.

05:03And this Sri Lankan team, as I said, inexperienced. And when you have inexperience,

05:06there was a cat among the pigeons.

05:09Shyam, you mentioned earlier, this is a Group B game. The group is tougher than the Group A

05:14because all the teams have an equal chance. But what does this now mean for Sri Lanka,

05:18having been beaten so badly tonight? What do they do going forwards?

05:24I mean, which means they are, the odds are pretty much against them. So what they need to do is the

05:30next match, which is against Bangladesh, they need to win and win big and hope Afghanistan

05:36beat Bangladesh. There's a lot of hoping going on there. Do you think that can happen?

05:45It can happen in cricket. But the thing is,

05:48this loss actually is a bloody blow to Sri Lanka's hopes.

05:53Anas, what do you think? They've blown their chances. Can they still get themselves back

05:57into this tournament? Well, they can definitely come back in the tournament. But like Shyam

06:02mentioned that Bangladesh also has to lose to Afghanistan. You see, this is a group of death.

06:07And only two teams can go through. And Afghanistan has already put one step ahead inside the door

06:12by winning big. Their net run rate is 5 point something. And Sri Lanka's net run rate is minus

06:175 point something. So the only way Sri Lanka can get through is that Bangladesh has to lose both

06:23to Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Otherwise, I don't see them coming. Well, we'll find out how they

06:30go on. The big one tomorrow, let's have a little chat about is obviously India against Pakistan.

06:36And this edition of the Asia Cup has the potential for these two teams playing three times. But Anas,

06:42who do you think is going to win tomorrow considering the form that they've both been in?

06:46Who do you think is going to edge it tomorrow? I remember very vividly. Last time when I was

06:51asked this question, I went on to blow my trumpet of an Indian fan and said that India is going to

06:56blow away Pakistan. They played the IPL and Pakistan just blew away India by 10 wickets.

07:02So I'm not going to be putting on the hat of a predictor who's going to win. I believe the team,

07:06which plays smart cricket, I will use the word smart cricket. I remember Angelo Matthews saying

07:10that it's not about going hard. Sometimes you have to accept that condition. You have to respect the

07:15condition. And as I said earlier, if you make sure that you bat first and you don't lose wickets,

07:21you can always recover and score a 180 and that can be defended. So my advice to both the teams,

07:26if you lose the toss, don't think that you lost the match. Play smart.

07:31But Anas, in a game like this, with the tensions, with the rivalry, with the quality of the players,

07:35with the fans in the stadium going berserk watching this game, do you think both teams

07:41will be able to keep their heads and try to play smart cricket? Well, now you've played

07:46enough cricket. I know there's a little bit of experience in the Pakistan camp compared to India's

07:50camp. But that's what we will have to see. This is like a platform for them for the World Cup.

07:55So if they prepare well, this is going to be a stepping stone for them to go ahead in the World

07:59Cup. We'll have to see. Yes, nerves do play a big role. And when you do well against a country like

08:03India or Pakistan, that's where you see the temperament of a player. Shyam, what's your

08:07thoughts for tomorrow's huge game? How's it going to go? I would take Anis' advice and not pick a

08:13winner here. Because it's very, very tricky when it comes to India and Pakistan, simply because

08:19the teams are evenly matched. Not just that. See, India-Pakistan matches, for all that passion

08:26it arouses, the quality of cricket never matches the level of the intensity.

08:33Simply because both teams, their nerves are short. So actually, who wins on the day

08:40is a team which holds the nerves better. They win. This has been the history. I mean,

08:46if you look at every match, who has won, they have held their nerves better.

08:52So I would say the same thing will happen tomorrow. Who holds their nerves, who plays it cool,

08:58will win tomorrow. Do you think, Shyam, it'll have a big effect for Pakistan missing their key bowler,

09:04Shahin Shah Afridi, and I think Jasprit Bumrah is also missing tomorrow. There's two

09:08very, I mean, these are match winners in their own right. They're both not going to be there.

09:11How will that affect the game tomorrow? Yes, it will affect both the teams because

09:16both of them are their spearheads. More so for Pakistan, because if you look at

09:22the previous T20 World Cup win, that was completely set up by Shahin Shah Afridi.

09:28His first spell actually changed the complexion of the match. And India was on the back foot

09:34since then. And Pakistan never allowed India to come back to the match. So like even today,

09:40today's press conference, Babar Assam said that if Shahin Shah Afridi was there,

09:45the game would be completely different. Pakistan approach would be completely different.

09:49So here, Pakistan would really miss Shahin Shah Afridi. And likewise for India as well,

09:55Jasprit Bumrah is a proven match winner. So his absence will be felt.

10:00Anish, you'll have the last word. Let's have a little quick chat to wrap up about Virat Kohli.

10:06He's obviously coming into the match with a lot of pressure. He's been talking about his mental

10:09health and everything. How do you think he's going to get on tomorrow?

10:12Well, if I have to say very honestly, his press conference up close about Virat Kohli has totally

10:18moved me. And he said that you have to realize that your body is not a machine. It can go on

10:23and go on. You need to give a break. And I believe that this break might bring him back. And I only

10:28hope he plays his style of cricket and doesn't play the gumbo style of cricket, which the new

10:32Indian approach has been there. So if the others are going hard, he needs to bat. Because his

10:37presence on the field not only gives a calmness in the Indian dressing room, but also makes the

10:43opposition fear. Because Virat Kohli, we all know what he can do with the bat.

10:47All right. It's got to be absolutely fascinating. We'll be back tomorrow night. For the latest news,

10:51head to gulfnews.com for all the latest in sports. We've got lots of videos. We've got

10:55lots of commentaries and reviews and everything. So make sure you head down today. In the meantime,

11:00we shall see you again tomorrow night. That's all from us. Good night.

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