On Tuesday, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka played out a thrilling final group stage match of the Asia Cup. With qualification for the Super Four stage coming down to net run rate, Afghanistan knew once the first innings was over that they would need to chase down the target of 292 within 37.1 overs to qualify.
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With both openers dismissed within the first five overs, things got tough for Afghanistan but Gulbadin Naib and Rahmat Shah kept the run-scoring at above a run-a-ball before Mohammad Nabi's 32-ball blitz of 65 put Afghanistan in the driver's seat.
With three runs needed off one ball to win and qualify, Mujeeb Ur Rahman hit Dhananjaya de Silva straight down the throat of long on, seemingly ending Afghanistan's chances of qualification.
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"We were never communicated all the calculations" - Jonathan Trott
Three balls after that, No 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi was out LBW and Afghanistan were all out, but it soon emerged that their qualification chances had not been ended by Mujeeb's wicket.
If Farooqi had taken a single and gotten Rashid Khan on strike, a four or six from the all-rounder within 38.1 overs would have been enough to push Afghanistan's net run rate above Sri Lanka's, and qualify for the Super Four stage along with Bangladesh.
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Trott claimed at the post-match press conference that this information had not been given to the players. He said,
We were never communicated those calculations. All we were communicated was that 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.
It is unclear what source Afghanistan were depending on for these calculations. Certain broadcasters and online sources had put this information out to the public before the match was over, and doubts have been raised over why even the team's own analysts were unaware of the possible qualification scenarios.
