Archive for the ‘India vs Afghanistan’ tag
Afghans At The WC
I was going to take a dig at Kabir Khan’s pre-match “We’ll give India something to think about” statement in this post, but I changed my mind. Thanks to this article by Sharda Ugra (link via Prem Panicker).
Opener Karim Sadiq, the Indian Express revealed a few days ago, is called Kabul ka Sehwag (the Sehwag of Kabul) while wicketkeeper Mohammed Shazhad, like MS Dhoni wears the No. 7 shirt. Their left-handed fast bowler is nick named Zak after our own Broody One.
Cricket is not a favourite sport but the cricketers are Afghanistan’s new heroes. They have become the words Afghans want read about their country in the outside world. Not ‘Taliban’, ‘warlords’, ‘drone attacks’, suicide bombers, opium fields, NATO forces, CIA. But victory, qualification, performance, joy, batsmen, bowlers, man of the match, fours, sixes.
The fact that I did not write a cocky post before the match, and that I was feverishly checking the score while watching Iron Man 2 to make sure all was going ok, should tell you that I was a little…well…concerned. Afghanistan has the drive and hunger to make its mark at the big stage, and India has a tendency to start slow. Let’s just say I’m happy to note that India won comfortably and am looking foward to following Afghanistan’s progress in the future.
