Rashid Khan stated that the big loss against West Indies won’t impact Afghanistan’s performance in the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2024. On June 18, the Afghan team suffered a 104-run defeat at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia. They were all out for 114 while trying to reach a target of 219.
The game didn’t really matter because both teams had already qualified for the next round. Afghanistan ended the first part of the competition in second place with 6 points and a score difference of +1.835, having won 3 of their 4 games. Rashid mentioned that the loss might actually help Afghanistan in the long run.
“Don’t think so. We’ve achieved what we wanted – to get Super Eight. The different pitches coming up… we’ll adjust to them. Good learning this loss happened at this stage, not in a do-or-die game,” Rashid said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Rashid praised Noor Ahmad for his controlled bowling performance, where he bowled four overs and gave away only 20 runs without taking a wicket. Despite not getting a wicket, Rashid highlighted the good aspects of their game, such as their fielding, bowling in the middle part of the game, and Noor’s bowling.
Rashid said that it was hard for Afghanistan to recover after West Indies made 92 runs in the first six overs.
“They batted really well, getting about 90 runs in the powerplay, which makes it hard to catch up. But we played well in the middle part of the game and managed to keep them under 200 runs. This match helps us learn about our mindset and strategy. We hope to do better next time,” Rashid explained.
Afghanistan’s next big game is against India, led by Rohit Sharma, on Thursday, June 20 at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.
