There wasn't a seat to be had and it was hardly the eve of a World Cup final. Yet that was the case at the Chinnaswamy Stadium Media Conference Hall when Asghar Stanikzai, the Afghanistan captain walked in for the pre-match briefing along with coach Phil Simmons yesterday. There was a translator too in tow and although a lot of what Stanikzai said was lost in translation, his excitement at being at the cusp of history always came through.

"It is itself history that we are playing the inaugural and historical Test match against the No. 1 team in the world," said the visiting captain, who refused to admit to any nervousness, saying he's hearing the word 'nervous' for the first time. Back home the mood is positive he said. "They are very positive and supportive and looking forward for the best performance. They expect we will perform well because recently Afghanistan performed really well in the T20s and ODIs and their expectation will be the same from us," said Stanikzai.