More from Afghanistan just around the corner

By taking Pakistan till the last over holding them by the scuff and shaking them up, the Afghans have heralded that they have indeed arrived at the big stage and it’s just a matter of time for them to being a consistent threat from Asia.

To come back into the contest and stopping Pakistan from running away with the match, the Afghans have showed that they have developed into a unit that is capable of snatching a yard, if given an inch.

They did lack some experience in bowling at the death but they have clearly stuck to the plans and not once did they deviated from it. Now thrice they have scored close to 250 plus and have tasted success in two — against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Patience, confidence

Their batsmen have shown a lot of patience and batted with confidence and composure so far and on Friday, Hashmatullah Shahidi (97 off 118) and skipper Asghar Afghan (67 off 56) were exceptional.

However, with this result, they would have learnt that against a team like Pakistan and India they needed to do lot more with the bat to give their three front line spinners, led by Rashid Khan, a serious chance to defend.

Nevertheless, the world has taken a firm note of their resurgence and no cricketing nation will dare to take them lightly from now on.

A lot of credit should go to their West Indian coach Phil Simmons. It would have been a massive decision for him to come to the aid of a team of wannabes from a war-torn country with limitations galore. In a short span, however, Simmons has certainly made them believe what they can and how far they can go.