KABUL – The Afghans who grew up in colonies in Pakistan during the war years, took to tape-ball cricket, which was immensely popular in the country.
Gradually, it led to something fantastic, the game spreading in their own nation, the forming of the Afghanistan Cricket Federation (Afghanistan Cricket Board now) in 1995, and the steady rise up the ranks to, in 2018, their first Test match.
Here’s a look at some of Afghanistan’s biggest high points in International Cricket Council tournaments over the years.
ICC World Cricket League Championship 2011-13:
Afghanistan won their first ICC Cricket World Cup ticket in 2013.
Eight teams took part in the ICC WCL Championship: Apart from Afghanistan, Ireland, the Netherlands, Kenya, Scotland, Namibia, Canada and the United Arab Emirates were involved.
Afghanistan finished second in the competition after beating Kenya twice in succession and joined Ireland in the marquee event in 2015.
Playing their first-ever ICC Cricket World Cup, Afghanistan faltered against the five Test-playing nations in Pool A – New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and England – but beat Scotland in a close match by one wicket.
The Afghanistan pacemen, Shapoor and Dawlat Zadran, picked up seven wickets between them to bowl Scotland out for 210.
Then Javed Ahmadi, the opener, made 51 and Samiullah Shenwari, the No.4 batsman, scored 96, but with the ninth wicket falling at 192, it came down to the last two batsmen – Hamid Hassan and Shapoor Zadran – who took team home with three balls to spare.
Afghanistan squad today began their training in Bangalore ahead of the #HistoricTest match against India by taking part in a practice session #INDvsAFG #AFGvsIND #PhenomenalRise pic.twitter.com/gymeFCvKyt
— Afghan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) June 10, 2018
ICC World T20 2016:
Now a team everyone had become aware of, Afghanistan went through the ICC World T20 Qualifier 2015 to qualify for the big event, played in India.
Eight teams faced off in the group stage, to join the top-eight nations in the Super 10s, and Afghanistan won all their games – against Zimbabwe, Scotland and Hong Kong – to be promoted.
In the Super 10s, though, losses to Sri Lanka, South Africa and England knocked Afghanistan out of contention, but they lifted their game in the last fixture against the Windies, the eventual champions, winning by six runs in a low-scoring match.
The tournament also saw the emergence of Rashid Khan as a leg-spinner to worry about. In seven games, across the two phases, he picked up 11 wickets at an economy rate of 6.53, only behind teammate Mohammad Nabi (12 wickets) in the charts.
PHOTOS: Team practice session in Bengaluru ahead of the Test match against India #INDvsAFG #AFGvsIND #HistoricTest #PhenomenalRise pic.twitter.com/sDjteFyxEP
— Afghan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) June 11, 2018
ICC Intercontinental Cup 2015-17:
“Winning the ICC Intercontinental Cup for the second time is wonderful and being unbeaten is fantastic” — Rashid Khan.
In the seventh edition of the international first-class tournament, Afghanistan powered to a second title, but this time the win became more special as they earned full-member status as a result, along with Ireland.
After drawing the first match with Scotland, Afghanistan went on to win their remaining six matches against Papua New Guinea, Namibia, the Netherlands, Ireland, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates.
Afghanistan finished on top of the table with 121 points, while Ireland finished second with 109 points.
ICC World Cup Qualifier 2018:
Afghanistan entered this year’s qualifier event in Zimbabwe as one of the favourites.
However, they struggled at the start of the tournament, losing their first three matches, which meant their chance to enter the next phase - the Super Sixes - was hanging by a thread.
But a win in their last group encounter against Nepal, and a few other results going their way, helped them get through, and then they registered three wins in a row to get to the final, along with the Windies.
Being in the top two was enough to ensure qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, and that achieved, Afghanistan went one better, beating the Windies by seven wickets in the final.