Asia Cup 2018: Russel Arnold praises Afghanistan for their spirited show in the tournament

The performance of Afghanistan in his year’s Unimoni Asia Cup has impressed all. The team, which won the ICC World Cup qualifiers earlier this year, ended up as group champions in the tournament but lost a few close games in Super Four before tying their final match against an in-form Indian side. Among the several former players who applauded the young side for their show is also former Sri Lankan batsman Russel Arnold.

After thrashing Sri Lanka by 91 runs and Bangladesh by 116 runs in the group stage, Afghanistan lost closely to Pakistan by three wickets and Bangladesh by three runs to lose their plot. On Tuesday, they took on a second string India side led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and banking on their dashing wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Shahzad (124) and an all-round performance from Mohammad Nabi (64 and 2 wickets for 40) and others, bowled out India for the same score of 252 that they put up batting first.

Team to watch out for in World Cup

The way the Afghanistan team is playing currently they could well be the dark horse for the World Cup next year. They must’ve learnt a lot from the close games which they lost in the Asia Cup and the team will only improve from here. Their batsmen also looked equipped to face quality bowling and only if they find a proper pace bowler who clicks 140 kph consistently, Afghanistan will be a force to reckon with.

Arnold took to Twitter to say that the team of the 14th Asia Cup is Afghanistan and added that there were many things one liked about them. The 44-year-old former cricketer’s tweet was liked more than a thousand times.

The team of the #Asiacup are @ACBofficials Congratulations… Soo much to like about them.!!

— Russel Arnold (@RusselArnold69) September 25, 2018

Arnold’s own team, however, had a forgettable outing in this edition. Five-time champions who played a record nine finals – something which have been matched by India this year – crashed out of the fray after losing two straight games, against Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

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