Great team

Hats off to the Afghanistan team, especially its opener Ibrahim Zardain’s deadly century and the fifer of Azmanullah Omrgai and his valuable 41 runs to humble the England lions @ Lahore (“Afghanistan eliminate England from Champions Trophy with 8-run win,” Feb.26, Gulf Today website).

At the same time, due credit should be given to England star Joe Root for his masterful century, which almost took them to the winning post. While we were expecting Root to root to the crease and ensure his team victory, his overambitious shot to get out deprived them a chance to live for another day. Anyway, that’s the game of cricket, which is unpredictable till the last ball is bowled.

Now that the minnows have won this match, it is a golden chance for them to beat the Champions team, Australia, and make a maiden entry in the semi-finals of the ICC tournament. Definitely it is going to be an interesting game in the remaining matches in Group B.

Well, keep your fingers crossed. Incidentally, every participating team has at least a centurion during their matches. Hope to see a century knock by one of the batsmen — Babar or Rizwan in the Pakistan team – to redeem their lost pride.

Vinay Mahadevan,

Al Nahda, Dubai