"If they had not lost their first match to Bangladesh, they would have been serious contenders for the semi-finals"

Aakash Chopra reckons Afghanistan might have been strong candidates to reach the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup had they not lost their tournament opener to Bangladesh.

Hashmatullah Shahidi and company registered an emphatic seven-wicket win in their league-phase clash against Sri Lanka in Pune on Monday, October 30. The victory helped them climb into fifth position in the points table and kept their hopes of making it to the knockout stages alive.

Reflecting on Afghanistan's run in the tournament in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that the defeat against Bangladesh might cost them a semi-final berth. He said (0:01):

"Afghanistan have won their third game. They first defeated England, then made Pakistan lick dust and now they have said tata bye-bye to Sri Lanka."

The former India opener added:

"They are not winning matches, they are dominating and winning convincingly. If they had not lost their first match to Bangladesh, they would have been serious contenders for the semi-final race."

Chopra pointed out that Afghanistan are not relying solely on their spinners to win them games. He elaborated (1:40):

"Afghanistan - a team on the rise. We had discussed pre-tournament as well that you shouldn't take Afghanistan lightly, that they are a good team who have good spinners and if they start scoring runs in batting, it would be difficult to beat this team. Interestingly enough, they are not winning based on spin."

Chopra highlighted that the win against Pakistan was based on their batting might as they chased down a 283-run target. He added that their batting came to the fore against Sri Lanka as well in a 242-run chase.

"Whoever made runs was made to lick dust by him" - Aakash Chopra lauds Fazalhaq Farooqi's spell

Fazalhaq Farooqi registered figures of 4/34 in 10 overs.

Aakash Chopra lauded Fazalhaq Farooqi for picking up crucial wickets against Sri Lanka. He stated (2:20):

"We had discussed yesterday that the Pune pitch has help for pacers. Keeping that in mind, the team played Fazalhaq Farooqi in place of Noor Ahmad. Farooqi picked up four wickets and all four players he dismissed had gotten off to starts. Whoever made runs was made to lick dust by him."

The reputed commentator praised Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi and Ibrahim Zadran for playing vital knocks in Afghanistan's run chase. He said:

"Sri Lanka should have scored at least 285. They feel short by about 45 runs. They dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz but Ibrahim Zadran - I felt he would score 60-70, he didn't score that many. Then Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, and Azmatullah Omarzai came when it felt like there could be a twist in the tale."

Chopra concluded by pointing out that Afghanistan have a tough road ahead if they wish to make the semi-finals. While acknowledging that they should beat the Netherlands in Lucknow, he opined that they are likely to come unstuck against Australia and South Africa in Mumbai and Ahmedabad respectively.