Afghanistan had a chance to qualify for the Asia Cup Super Four but according to them, they weren’t aware of the exact calculations. In their match against Sri Lanka on Wednesday, they had failed to reach their target of 292 in the stipulated 37.1 overs, but mathematically still had a chance of going through.

What happened

At the end of the 37th over, Afghanistan were 289-8. It meant they needed three runs off one ball to win by bettering Sri Lanka’s net run rate (NRR). Going for a big hit off Dhananjaya de Silva, Mujeeb Ur Rahman was caught on the long-on boundary, following which the non-striker Rashid Khan sank to his knees, presumably in the belief that Afghanistan had lost their chance to qualify. However, they were still not out of the competition.

Afghanistan would have finished above Sri Lanka on net run rate had they got to 293 after 37.2 overs, 294 after 37.3, 295 after 37.5, 296 after 38 overs, or 297 after 38.1. They could have achieved these targets if their No. 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi had hit a four off the second ball of the 38th over; a six off the third, fourth or fifth ball; or taken a single to allow Rashid – who was batting on 27 off 16 balls – to try and finish the game himself.

While teams rely on match officials to a certain extent for information, NRR calculations are fairly straightforward, and are usually the preserve of the analysts who are part of most high-profile teams’ backroom contingents.

Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott has confirmed that his team was unaware of the calculations.

“We were never communicated those calculations,” he said. “All we were communicated was we needed to win in 37.1 overs. We weren’t told what the overs in which we could get 295 or 297. (That we could win in) 38.1 overs was never communicated to us.”