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Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz was already more than a match for most bowlers as he attempted to get every delivery through point four. Recent evidence suggests he consulted his protractor and added a few more to that angle. Further explorations in geometry could become very messy indeed for his opponents.
A long time ago, in the Scottish mists of time – barely perceptible now that so many other world tournaments have come and gone to wash away more old memories – Rahmanullah Gurbaz made 80 from 57 balls against England to secure a supposedly momentous victory for his team at the 2023 World Cup.
On that occasion, the English bowlers belatedly discovered that if you bowl to Gurbaz outside stump with less than seven-point fielders, he will flawlessly cut you for four runs. So they started bouncing him. And he responded by hooking them for six.
Clinging to apparent strength can backfire if the hitter is so good that what seemed like strength is in fact not such a thing. We’re starting to wonder if letting Rahmanullah Gurbaz cut you through point four is the least bad option.
His first goal against South Africa was a four through the covers. A short time later he came up with the idea of hitting something straighter and considerably higher.
As he headed for 84 off 42 balls, this became his key shot, supplemented by the fallback option of hitting a six over third if the ball was shorter.
As he did against England, Gurbaz probed the offside line, but this time with the very notable exception of point.
Not only that, but look at the other half of the field and this is a very strange T20 wagon wheel with only one shot with even a small risk of clipping a cow grazing in the designated corner.
Afghanistan’s coach, Jonathan Trott, top-scored for England in the infamous 2009 defeat to Centurion, when Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman went all out (Smith eventually caught at long-on, Bosman at deep midwicket) – perhaps instilling a strong aversion to that quadrant in his attacks.
Gurbaz wasn’t done yet. Quite unusually for a T20 match, he actually played three innings against South Africa.
After scoring a single on the only ball he faced in the first Super Over, our man walked out for the third and final time, with Afghanistan needing the small matter of four sixes from four balls in the second Super Over.
It’s unlikely he hit three in a row before, even more incredibly, abandoning the fourth pitch.
Of course, he left it for a reason, and it was rightly called a wide. What would this fool do with the crucial extra supply?
He cut it straight to a fielder… at one point.
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