For the last four months, the people of Afghanistan have been going through some callous times. Cricket is one thing they find joy in during these challenging times. In the past decade, the Afghanistan cricket team has shown tremendous improvement in their game and performances on the international platform. Their journey from being underdogs to a formidable team has been a hard one. Their hard work has paid off. Let’s have a look at the Top 10 Moments of Afghanistan in international cricket-
1. Full Membership Of ICC
This was probably their most significant achievement in international cricket when they got the full membership of 2017. After being given Associate Membership in 2013, the International Cricket Council (ICC) finally recognized their performance and improvement and honored them by granting them full membership.
2. First Test Win
For any cricket team, winning its first test match is a dream. The Afghans realized this dream when they defeated Ireland in 2017. In this one-off test held at Dehradun, Afghanistan registered their first test win by seven wickets. Rashid Khan became the first Afghan to take a 5-wicket haul in Tests. Rahmat Shah was adjudged as the Man of the Match for scoring 98 and 76. Six months later, they defeated Bangladesh by 224 runs at Chittagong, registering their first test win away from home.
3. T20I Win Against West Indies In 2016
Afghanistan came to India for the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 as underdogs. They qualified for the Super 12 after emerging on top of their group in the first round. In the Super 12, they lost their first three matches. Their fourth and last match against West Indies was a dead rubber. But rather than for points, they were playing for the pride. While defending the modest target of 124, the gritty Afghans restricted West Indies to 117/8, winning the match by six runs. The victory was even sweeter for them, for they defeated a team that went on to win the Final of the World Cup.
4. Hashmatullah Shahidi’s Double-Century
Two years after his team won its first-ever test match, Afghanistan’s Hashmatullah Shahidi showed his grit after hitting 200 against Zimbabwe in the second test in March 2021. With this knock, he became the first Afghan player to hit a double-century in a test match and the only one to do so. Afghanistan was trailing by 1-0 in the series. Shahidi’s knock ensured that Afghanistan won the second test and squared up the series.
5. Rashid Khan Becomes First Afghan to Play In IPL
Playing in the Indian Premier League is the dream of every cricketer in this world. A player gets a lot of fame and money from the IPL, for it is one of the wealthiest cricket leagues in the world. When Afghanistan defeated West Indies in the 2016 T20 World Cup match, it had started getting the needed attention from the cricket-lovers. In the 2017 IPL Auction, SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) bought Rashid Khan for Rs. 4 crores. He made his IPL debut against Royal Challengers Bangalore, becoming the first Afghan player to make his debut in IPL.
6. Rashid Khan Takes Afghanistan’s First Hat-Trick
History was created when Rashid Khan became the first Afghan bowler to take a hat-trick in a T20I. In the Third T20I against Ireland in February 2019 at Dehradun, Rashid Khan got Shane Getkate out to write his name in the history books. It was still not over! In the subsequent delivery, Rashid dismissed Simi Singh to complete his double-hat-trick. He ended up with the figures of 5/27 in 4 overs.
7. First ODI Win Against A Full Member Of ICC
ODI Cricket tests a team’s skills, risk-taking, grit, and patience. A team always cherishes its first win in ODI, even more so against a full member of the ICC. The Afghanistan team tasted this fruit back in 2014 in Fatullah when it defeated Bangladesh by 32 runs in the fifth ODI. Riding on Asghar Afghan’s 90 and Samiullah Shinwari’s 81, Afghans posted 254/6. Afghan bowlers then restricted Bangladesh to 222 all out to script history.
8. Rashid Khan - Youngest Ever To Top ICC Rankings
Some people are extraordinary. At the age of 19, most of us were/are just goofing around trying to figure out the course of our future. But on the other hand, at the same age, a boy from Afghanistan had taken the cricketing world by storm. In February 2018, at the age of 19, Rashid Khan became the youngest player ever to top the ICC ODI Bowler Rankings. In the same month, he topped the charts for bowlers in the T20I. In September the same year, he reached the zenith of ICC All-Rounders Rankings in ODIs. Such a genius! Take a bow!
9. Maiden U19 Asia Cup Title
On 19 November 2017, young colts from Afghanistan brought smiles to millions of people back in their war-ravaged country. It was an emotional scene, as the players of the Afghanistan U19 team took a victory lap around Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur. And why not? They had just thrashed Pakistan U19 in the final of the 2017 U19 Asia Cup by 185 runs. Ikram Alikhil was adjudged the Man of the Match for his 107-run knock, while Mujeeb-ur-Rahman was the Man of the Tournament for taking 20 wickets.
10. Silver Medal At Asian Games
Cricket debuted in the 2010 Asian Games in China, featuring three erstwhile full members of ICC – Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Afghanistan, who was still an associate team back then, stunned Pakistan in the semi-final by 22 runs to ensure a medal for themselves. In the final at Guangzhou, they lost to Bangladesh 5 wickets to win a silver medal. In 2014, too, they won a silver medal.
