On winning the maiden Dehradun Test fixture comprehensively by seven wickets against Ireland on Monday in Uttarakhand, Afghanistan skipper Asghan Afghan has relished on breaking the duck in the Test fold while playing only their second Test after facing India in July 2018. Back then, India won the game by an innings and 262 runs. Afghan has termed it as a monumental achievement for the war-torn country which has found a home-base in India.
In addition, the Afghanistan team has yearned to don the whites which took them a bit longer before achieving the Test status alongside newbie Ireland.
The Afghan-led side has not only made it to the Test circuit but they have certainly left an indelible mark early on as five players were handed over a debut in the particular contest.
Moreover, it’s some story and a narrative to remember literally until eternity.
“Playing Test cricket was our dream and today we played our second Test and we won the game,” Afghan told during a post-match press presentation.
Well, for Afghan, March 18 is the date which now holds a ‘historic’ resemblance for Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) in particular. To be precise, they could celebrate it for becoming a buoyant force in the cricketing landscape.
“It is a historic day for Afghanistan, for Afghanistan people, for our team, for our cricket board,” Afghan added.
While dwelling into the statistics, it took New Zealand 45 games and India 25 Tests to win their first-ever Test match. On these lines, Afghanistan might have won the Test fixture against much-alike Ireland, however, they’ve had fought hard to script the history.
Teams with a number of matches to register their maiden Test victory:
| Teams | Test Match No. |
| Australia | 01 |
| England | 02 |
| Pakistan | 02 |
| Afghanistan | 02 |
| Windies | 06 |
| Zimbabwe | 11 |
| South Africa | 12 |
| Sri Lanka | 14 |
| India | 25 |
| Bangladesh | 35 |
| New Zealand | 45 |
Afghanistan batters have yet again shown a promise by playing quality cricket. Also, they’ve not shown any complacency on a surface which has been on a sluggish side.
While the game headed for the fourth day’s play, Afghanistan required 118 to successfully chase down the target.
Furthermore, Rahmat Shah, who earned Player of the Match award for twin half-centuries in the One-off Test.
Ihsanullah Janat has attributed it with unbeaten 65 off 129 balls after losing Mohammad Shahzad early on in the run-chase.
“We have played a lot of multi-day cricket and automatically we have matured because of that,” he reasoned. “Nowadays we are playing first-class cricket at home as well. Before we played three-day, two-day cricket, but now we’re playing first-class,” Afghan said.
Certainly, while playing the multi-day game in the recent past, it has benefitted Afghanistan.
In conclusion, Ireland captain William Porterfield has credited Afghanistan for dominating the game even though the Irish players had their chances in the Test fixture.
Since 2016, when former Afghanistan skipper Mohammad Nabi break the shackles to play for Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League.
Besides, seen as a watershed moment for Afghanistan cricketers, from Rashid Khan to Mujeeb Ur Rahman, the players from the politically-troubled region have left a strong impact in the Indian Premier League (IPL).