Asia Cup: Key Matches won by Afghanistan, and how it changed the perception of the importance of minnow in World cricket

The journey for Afghanistan began from Pakistan's refugee camp. Fighting odds like terrorism, internal chaos, and war displacement, Afghanistan Cricket Board was formed in 1995 and today, the team is acknowledged as one of the respectable sides in all the mega-events. 

With each passing game, the team has been improving their performance on an international level. The establishment of Afghanistan cricket from nowhere to a team to defeat they have set a perfect example of the importance of minnows in the cricketing world. 

Here, we have compiled three wins by Afghanistan that you need to know which changed their perception in the Cricketing world.

ICC World T20 2016 - vs West Indies

It was a six runs victory over the winner of the 2016 T20 World Cup, West Indies, in the Super 10 stage at Nagpur. Afghanistan couldn't post a massive total for a team like West Indies. 

Defending a small total of 123 against the best hitters in the world, Afghans turned the table entirely and restricted the Caribbeans on 117/8. Mohammad Nabi defended ten runs of the last over and got a six runs victory. Najibullah Zadran won man of the match for his 48* of 40 balls, and Rashid Khan shined by picking two crucial wickets for his team.

2018-2019 Asia Cup - vs Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

Afghanistan started the 2018-2019 Asia Cup with back-to-back wins against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. They won both matches, defending their total by taking all ten wickets.

They first defeated Sri Lanka by 91 runs defending 249, then Bangladesh by 136 runs defending 255 runs. It was a complete team performance in both matches to take all ten wickets. Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman were highly consistent and destroyed the whole batting lineup of two strong teams of that time.

In one of their games, Afghanistan also restricted India in the same Asia Cup tournament from winning. Though the match was tied, Afghanistan bowlers again held the nerves and gave tough competition to India.

Series whitewash against Zimbabwe, 2022

A 6-0 white-ball sweep dominating victory proved Afghanistan's elite team in world cricket. Right before a few weeks of the Asia Cup, Afghanistan toured Zimbabwe for a three-match ODI and T20I series. They dominated the hosts so that they whitewashed Zimbabwe in both series.

Afghanistan also got many heroes on this tour, such as Nijat Masood and Hazratullah Zazai. Players like Najibullah Zadran, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan continued to grow and improve for the mega tournament coming later this year - Asia Cup and T20 World Cup.

Right now, Afghanistan is all set to start Asia Cup 2022 against Sri Lanka today. Sri Lanka has been looking to find their touch as a team, while Afghanistan has been riding high horses for quite a long time now, giving great performances. 

Besides India and Pakistan, Afghanistan is the third favourite in the top 4 of this Asia Cup and will battle for the finals. The world might see another Afghanistan victory that'll become their pride for the future.