Afghanistan get the win they needed, but Trott wants improvement

While Pakistan have five days between the final of the tri-series on Sunday and their first game in the Asia Cup on Friday, Afghanistan did not get that luxury. Less than 48 hours after a humbling defeat in that game, they lined up for the tournament opener of the biggest T20I competition this year.

They were aware that, bunched together in a group with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, defeat against Hong Kong would put them on the brink of elimination as soon as the tournament began. They needed to shake the early nerves off, but four balls into the game, Sediqullah Atal nicked Hong Kong seamer Ayush Shukla to first slip.

It felt like a continuation of their horror run with the bat from two days earlier and a hundred miles further north, when Afghanistan folded for 66. But this is a new tournament, and it brought with it better fortune for the Afghans. Captain Yasim Murtaza put the sitter down, and it would be two hours before Atal walked off: not as a man vanquished, but one who had batted through his side's innings, scoring an unbeaten 73 off 52 as Afghanistan ran up an imposing 188, 34 more than the average first-innings score in Abu Dhabi.

It was a sliding-doors moment Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott acknowledged.

"We started averagely today," Trott said following the game. "We were a bit fortunate with a few dropped catches that sort of let us off. We need to make sure we improve on a few areas for the rest of the group games. We've got a few days off now. We've had a hectic schedule, six games in 12 days. So this is a good win. An important game for us and glad we've won it in the style we have."

However, for a side that opened the tournament with a 94-run win, Trott emphasised how far away this performance was from Afghanistan's ceiling, or even the median level the coach has come to demand of this ever-improving group.

Much of the concern will come from another turgid batting display for four fifths of the innings, when Hong Kong kept themselves in the game with the ball; better fielding would have put them in an even handier position. With 24 deliveries to go, Afghanistan had shuffled along to 119 for 4, needing to accelerate to even get to that average Abu Dhabi score.

It was only as Hong Kong's bowling fell away, particularly in an errant 17th over from Ateeq Iqbal, that the quality gap between these two sides began to reveal itself. A pair of sixes, a pair of fours, and a pair of balls that produced three wides combined for a 25-run over. With Azmatullah Omarzai at his explosive best, Shukla - of first-over misfortune - was pumped for another 24 in the penultimate, and 69 came off the final four.

It took the target well beyond Hong Kong's realistic ability, but Trott was adamant not to let this paper over the cracks.

"We need players to take responsibility," Trott said. "For me it's important some of our players need to get in some form and need to start going runs. That's very important.

"I would like us to have batted better. But then the way Sediq played and the way Azmat came in and hit the ball showed us it's a pretty good pitch. I'm fairly happy with the total that we got, but there are still things we need to work on and make sure we're ready for the rest of the games."

The strength of Trott's words suggest he wants to head the problem off before the stakes are raised. They have a week off before two games in three days, with the quality of opposition vastly superior in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. One of those three sides - barring a miracle from Hong Kong - will be elbowed out at the expense of the other two. Trott appeared to warn his players - despite the heavy win - that a drop in level might mean it could be them against more familiar opponents.

"All three teams have played each other quite a lot. We know each other quite well," he said. "Recently we haven't played a lot of games each other, but in the last couple of years we have. It's about remembering those things that we've done well against them individually but as a side as well. For me, Azmat coming into a bit of form today and Sediq carrying on the form that he's been in [are good signs].

"But still, we need to play better because I think we were helped a little bit by Hong Kong's fielding. Because if Azmat had been caught or Sediq had been caught in the first over, it could have been a very different game so we need to make sure we're better in the next few games."

However, Trott knows the difference between self-criticism and dwelling on the past, and where he was keen to draw the line was that dispiriting loss in the tri-series final to Pakistan on the weekend.

"This win was helpful just to move on and get past the final and move on and go into the Asia Cup," he said. "So we don't have to dwell on a very disappointing game for us which I think we were a good shot of winning at the halfway mark. Lessons learnt and I think the guys applied those lessons very well. We'll get those habits going again, and get ready for the next game."

Afghanistan now come with a large fan following, particularly in the UAE, where their supporters perhaps outnumbered Pakistan's in that final on Sunday. It is by far the most followed sport in a country that has bought into South Asian cricket fan culture much the same way as the more established nations from the region, with every moment, decision, selection or omission parsed and analysed to within an inch of its life.

That support may be the lifeblood of a cricketing ecosystem, but in tournaments like these, it is not always helpful.

"I'm not really worried about the media's expectation or the outside expectation," Trott said. "I'm worried about our expectation as players and as a side that we have for each other, and the standards we hold each other to on the field and off the field. That's the most important thing. If we get those right, the bigger picture will take care of itself. We've been pretty good and come pretty close to being within a shot of a few things. But we need to be better.

"We've won nothing. Let's just make that clear. We're an up and coming side and we've got a lot of work to do."

With that unflinching focus on constant improvement, Trott, and Afghanistan, may change that over the next three weeks.