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New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson lauded Afghanistan for their superb cricketing performance following their 84-run defeat in the T20 World Cup.
“Congrats to Afghanistan, they simply outplayed us in all facets. To get to that total on that surface, they kept their wickets and made a good score. We’ll have to put this behind quickly and get back to our next challenge. The boys did work hard in preparations for this match (on the lack of match practice), but it was hard and we need to move on quickly. Games come thick and fast in this tournament. 160 was a tough chase, but we needed partnerships, the skills they had made it difficult for us,” said Williamson in the post match press conference.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz once again emerged as the standout batsman for his team, providing an exceptional start to the game by scoring 80 runs off 55 deliveries. His stellar performance earned him the well-deserved man of the match award and propelled his team’s total to 159 for six wickets.
Following Gurbaz’s impressive batting display, the deadly duo of Rashid Khan and Fazalhaq Farooqi delivered a historic bowling spell, each claiming four wickets to dismantle the Kiwi batting lineup. Rashid Khan’s spell of 4/17 marked the best-ever performance by a captain in T20 World Cup history, while Farooqi became the first player ever to achieve two consecutive four-wicket hauls in T20 World Cup history.
“Our fielding was a let down, particularly in the first 10 overs, we had our chances and we didn’t use them. We need to take a step in the right direction, we know we are better than this, we’ll have to go away and give ourselves the best chance going into the next match. We didn’t take our opportunities and it goes a long way in changing the outcome of the match. Once they had a score, their bowlers executed their skills well. We’ll have a talk about this and then look to come back well in the next match,” concluded the Kiwi skipper.
The outcome has left the New Zealand team in a precarious situation, especially given their placement in what is widely regarded as the ‘Group of Death’ in this tournament edition. With matches against formidable opponents like the host team West Indies still ahead, New Zealand cannot afford any further setbacks if they aim to progress to the next round.
