Is Afghanistan's win over Sri Lanka really an upset?

Yesterday, Afghanistan won against Sri Lanka by 91 runs which is Sri Lanka's second biggest loss in Asia Cup history only bettered by their 137-run defeat against Bangladesh in the same tournament a few days earlier. So, can this really be called an upset?

An upset occurs in a competition, frequently in electoral politics or sports, when the party popularly expected to win (the favourite), is defeated by an underdog whom the majority expects to lose, defying the conventional wisdom.

Can the team with 10 wins in their last 41 matches (Sri Lanka) be termed as favourites against one with just 12 losses in 32 matches (Afghanistan) played over last 2 years? It was quite evident that Afghanistan were expected to win (maybe just slightly but still) by many rather than the actual underdogs in this match, Sri Lanka.

Ramiz Raja even went on to say that "Afghanistan will reach the Finals" after the match and if you saw them play on Monday, you won't shrug off his prediction.

Afghanistan has taken rapid steps in International cricket and their staggering growth is great for the game. This win against Sri Lanka is just one of their great achievements in this uphill cricketing journey of a struggling nation that has shown tremendous determination against all the odds.

There was no uncertainty regarding Afghanistan's bowling with 3 world class spinners in the squad. But if there were any doubts those were regarding their batting and once the batting got them to 249 playing maturely, they were definitely hard to beat even if India or Pakistan were playing.

As good as Afghanistan has been since the last 2 years, Sri Lanka's curve is exactly the opposite. They have dived as low as losing to Zimbabwe at home 3-2. They seem to have all the talent required but somehow aren't able to convert that into results they so desperately need.

But don't let this poor form of the opposition beguile you. This win wasn't just for Sri Lanka's poor cricket but more for Afghanistan's brilliance in all departments. If they keep playing the way they did yesterday, it would be hard even for the world-class teams like India and Pakistan to conquer them and if you see more monstrous results going ahead in this tournament, don't be startled by that because this Afghanistan team is no underdog no matter whom they play.

Hence, the end result of this match should be celebrated as a new milestone in Afghanistan cricket. By no means was it an upset.