Afghanistan’s captain Rashid Khan (L) and Afghanistan’s Gulbadin Naib celebrate winning their the ICC men’s Twenty20 World Cup 2024 Super Eight cricket match against Bangladesh at Arnos Vale Stadium in Arnos Vale, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on June 24, 2024. (Photo by Randy Brooks / AFP)
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RANDY BROOKS
Afghanistan also picked up a historic win over Australia before beating Bangladesh in the final Super 8 fixture to set up semifinal date with South Africa on June 27.
Against Bangladesh, Afghanistan were restricted to 115/5 but the bowlers led by Naveen Ul Haq and Rashid propelled them to a thrilling eight-run win.
“We thought 130-135 was a good score but we fell 15 runs short. We knew they would come hard at us and we knew that is what we could take advantage of. We didn’t need to do anything extra, just be clear in our plans.
Pacers Naveen and Fazalhaq Farooqi have excelled with the new ball all through the campaign and Rashid couldn’t be happier.
“In T20s if you get a good start, it helps us in the middle overs. They have given great starts to us in the whole competition. It makes it easier for us to go harder at the batsmen.
“They have delivered, they were very clear in their minds,” Rashid said.
On the several rain interruptions that eventually led the match to be truncated, Rashid said they were mentally ready to pick all 10 wickets.
“Rain is something not in our hands but mentally we knew we have to play 20 overs and take 10 wickets.
“That’s the only way we could win. But Gulbadin, he had some cramps. But his wicket was invaluable to us,” he said.
The skipper reckoned there will be huge celebration back home.
“It’s a big achievement for us as well. We have done that at U-19 level but at this World Cup, I don’t have any words to describe the feeling back home. We have to go into the semis with a very clear mind and make sure we enjoy the occasion,” he said.
Shanto blames batters
Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto conceded the team was once again let down by its batters.
“We bowled really well. As a bowling unit we did a lot of good things. But as a batting unit we made some poor decisions especially in the middle overs,” he admitted.
“Whole tournament, we bowled really well, especially Rishad the new guy came and bowled really well, I am really happy for him. As a batting unit we really need to improve a lot.”
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Publish date : 2024-06-25 04:50:00
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