David Warner shakes hands with Afghanistan’s Najibullah Zadran at the end of the match. (Reuters)After bundling out minnows Afghanistan on 207, David Warner and skipper Aaron Finch combined together to help Australia secure a convincing seven-wicket win in their tournament opener at Bristol’s County Ground on Saturday. Warner remained unbeaten at the crease on 89, while Finch scored 66. In the bowling department, Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa shared three wickets each helping their side to restrict Afghanistan from posting a stiff total on the board.
TOSS: Despite relying mostly on the spinners, Afghanistan skipper Gulbadin Naib took the bold decision to bat against defending champions Australia. However, the skipper justified his decision and stated that the track was flat and he wanted his spinners to defend the total. For the first time after being suspended from cricket, David Warner and Steve Smith returned to the international circuit in an official match.
FIRST INNINGS: Cummins and Zampa took three wickets each as Australia restricted Afghanistan on 207 in 39 overs. After getting off to a dreadful start, Najibullah Zadran’s half-century and a quick 27 off 11 balls by Rashid Khan saw Afghanistan cross the 200-run mark. Cummins gave away 40 runs in the 8.2 overs he bowled and removed Hazratullah Zazai for a duck and later went on to pick the wickets of Dawlat Zadran and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Zampa, on the other hand, was a little expensive as the tweaker went for 60 runs in the 8 overs he bowled.
SECOND INNINGS: Chasing a mere 208, the Aussies got off to a brilliant start with skipper Finch and his opening partner Warner leading the way. The duo added 96 for the first wicket before the skipper was removed by Naib on 66. Usman Khawaja then joined the party but he was trapped leg before on 15 by Rashid and Mujeeb went on to pick the wicket of Steve Smith, while he was batting on 18 from 27 deliveries. However, Warner remained firm in the crease and played an unbeaten knock of 89 to help Australia secure a comfortable seven-wicket win with 91 balls to spare.
GAME CHANGER: Warner, who was playing his first official match after a gap of over 12 months, was the main man behind the defending champions comfortable win over Afghanistan. He played a match-winning knock of 89 runs in 114 balls, which included six boundaries and four maximums.
CAPTAINS SPEAK:
Aaron Finch: Always a bit of nerves, we’ve been training together so long now. We were probably ready to go four days ago, long build up. But good to get a first win. Wickets in the Powerplay are crucial to any side, if you look at the data, so pretty good to get a couple early. Couple of sharp run-out chances from Smithy. I felt good today, you get a couple away early and get a good flow going. Warner is very important to our side. He was struggling to time the ball in the first half, but the fact that he kept hanging in there was great for him. He did the job at the end. Important you don’t look too far ahead.
Gulbadin Naib: They are a champion side, so you can’t have any mistake against them. We didn’t have a good start with our openers, so obviously we were a bit on the back foot. After that Rahmat and Nabi got stuck in the wicket, so the pressure was there. Looking at the England conditions, you can take this kind of step (bringing in Hamid). Hope there is something for spin in the upcoming matches.
BRIEF SCORE: AFG: 207 (38.2 overs) | AUS: 209/3 (34.5 overs)
