Miss-calculation of NRR from match officials in match against Sri Lanka lead Afghanistan to walk out of Asia Cup 2023

Jonathan Trott and Rashid Khan (Source: Twitter)

In the world of sports, surprises and unexpected turns of events are very common. This was certainly the case for Afghanistan's cricket team during their match against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup. Despite failing to reach their target of 292 runs within the required 37.1 overs, it was later revealed that they still had a chance to qualify for the Asia Cup Super-Four. Astonishingly, their head coach, Jonathan Trott, admitted that his squad was completely unaware of this crucial information.

This revelation raises several questions about the team's preparation and communication strategies. How could a professional cricket team be unaware of such vital calculations? It is essential for any sports team to have a clear understanding of their position in a tournament and what is required from them to progress further.

The Afghanistan team management seems to have lost track of the permutations and failed to convey the equations that in case the Afghans failed to reach 292 in 37.1 overs, they could have still qualified if they scored six runs in the next three deliveries.

Rashid Khan seemed unaware of that equation, and they did not make any attempt as Fazalhaq Farooqi defended two deliveries before he was trapped by Dhananjay De Silva as Afghanistan fell agonizingly short.

Fans strongly criticized Afghanistan's support staff, especially their analyst, after the team would have missed out on a spot in the Asia Cup 2023 Super Fours because of a mistake in interpreting the qualification circumstances during an exciting pursuit against Sri Lanka in Lahore on September 5.

Sri Lanka is the fourth team to qualify into Asia Cup super-four

Defending champions Sri Lanka defeated Afghanistan by 2 runs to qualify for the Super 4 stage. This was a perfect nail-biting thriller where Afghanistan almost triumphed over Sri Lanka, but under the Net Run Rate (NRR) pressure, the team collapsed and lost all 10 wickets. 

There are four teams in total which have qualified for Asia Cup super-four including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Super four clash will start from today, however due to bad weather conditions in Sri Lanka still few venues are not finalized to play.