Whiteboards, confidence, and Rashid energy propelling Afghans
Afghanistan are enjoying an outstanding campaign with three stirring triumphs -- against defending champions England, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka -- that have the side pushing for a first-ever appearance in the knockout stage of an ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.
A third victory of the tournament means that Afghanistan are leading the chasing pack for the semifinal qualification places, after winning just a single World Cup fixture in their history prior to this event.
Afghanistan have achieved their winning feats without completely relying on main man Rashid Khan, who has matured into a mentor in a squad packed full of young talent.
"Rashid Khan is the best player and he is a very energetic guy so all the team is full of energy around him," captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said after Monday's victory over Sri Lanka.
The talented Rashid, who celebrated his 100th ODI appearance for Afghanistan against Sri Lanka, is the team's top wicket-taker for the tournament with seven in six matches.
But Afghanistan's success hasn't been built solely on the brilliance of the leg-spinner, with the whole attack contributing and the team's batting standing up.
"There's such an amount of talent," coach Jonathan Trott said after watching his squad's seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Pune.
That structure was clear to see in a chasing effort that featured outstanding half-centuries from three of the top five, with Afghanistan's confidence visibly growing throughout a composed batting effort against Pakistan.
"The Pakistan chase gave us a lot of confidence and belief that we can chase any kind of target," Hashmatullah said.
Afghanistan's patient and professional run-chase followed the simple blueprint spelled out on a whiteboard in the changing room.
Television cameras picked up a batting plan, scrawled on the board, that set targets for each 10 overs -- 50 runs after 10 overs, 100 runs after 20 overs, and so on.
While not being the most complicated of tactics, the simplicity of the messaging was a reminder that there is plenty of time when chasing down a target of 242 – something that some other teams have seemingly failed to appreciate in the tournament.
"I think when it's batting first, it's a little bit different," Trott said when asked about the whiteboard strategy.
"But sometimes, certainly like the Pakistan game, chasing 280 and starting on zero, it's a long way away. But if you break it down, it seems a lot more manageable.
"It's those sorts of things, the little things, you know, motivating the players and keeping them in touch with where we want to be. And it's also a feel-good factor. If you know you're on the right track, it's also a nice feeling as well.
"We don't want to limit the guys on what they can do batting first. We want them to assess the conditions and make sure we go out there and get as many as we can. So, it just worked out."
The Netherlands await Afghanistan next up, where a win would put them squarely in the semifinal conversation.