CT25 – Afg vs Eng – Azmatullah Omarzai is the perfect utility allrounder for Afghanistan says Urooj Mumtaz

There were several big moments in the see-sawing Champions Trophy game, where both teams had to win to stay alive and, in that pressure, Omarzai produced a death-overs performance of 3.5-0-26-3. When he came on to bowl in this unforgiving phase of play, Joe Root was still out there, 114 not out, and it seemed like he had tilted the game in England’s favour. Omarzai produced an incredible effort ball that defied a lifeless pitch, got big on a set batter and bounced him out.

Root was slow on the upper cut. That doesn’t happen a lot. It almost seemed like he was expecting the offcutter again. He had been deceived by one earlier in the over, but still managed to hit it for a boundary. And he might have been setting up for another, with short fine and short third up, but was caught completely off guard. Being unpredictable is a vital asset for a fast bowler in the back end of an innings. Omarzai couldn’t be lined up. Not even by a member of the Fab Four.

“To outfox somebody of the calibre of Joe at the position of the game, batting well across a hundred, when he had the measure of the other bowlers, that is what (sets him apart),” Mumtaz said.

Omarzai had provided Afghanistan with their first wicket as well, taking out the hard-hitting Phil Salt in just the fourth over of a chase of 326. He compensated for Rashid Khan having an off night with the wicket of Jos Buttler through the middle overs. An equation of 110 off 79 balls got that bit harder because England had only two recognised batters left – Jamie Overton and Liam Livingstone and – he knocked over one of them to drag a game with plenty of twists and turns back in Afghanistan’s favour.

“He picked up Salt, he picked up Buttler, and he picked up Overton as well,” Mumtaz said, “All four of those wickets crucial, obviously in the end finished with a five-for, (with Adil) Rahid(‘s wicket) as well. He broke the game open not once but on three different occasions. I thought Root, Buttler and Overton, given the position of the game was quite spectacular.

“Afghanistan just held the nerve and I think that is the biggest transition for this side, that they now know how to win key moments in games and they know how to win against better-ranked sides in the international circuit. The crowd, obviously the England support was outnumbered 99 to 1%. The roar was magnificent, and I think a true victory celebration. They are one for the big events now, the Afghanistan side.”

“Yet they’re very competitive. You think of the trajectory that Afghanistan cricket has been on, perhaps the pioneer, you might say, has been Rashid Khan. He’s been a huge influence, but now you think of the other players that are making immense contributions in major competitions.”

Afghanistan face Australia on Friday in a rematch of that epic game from the 2023 World Cup and if they win, they will progress to a second successive ICC tournament semi-final.