The Afghanistan Captain Rashid Khan reveals his emotion after the heavy defeat against South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2024 Semi final on Thursday in Trinidad.
Rashid Khan said it was an abysmal performance of the team in the semifinal, but overall, the team did an incredible job throughout the T20 World Cup 2024.
“It was tough for us as a team. We might have done better but the conditions didn’t allow us to do what we wanted. That’s how T20 cricket is, you need to be ready for all conditions,” Rashid said after the match.
“I think they bowled really well. I think we succeeded in this tournament because the seamers bowled really well, you need good starts. I think we were unlucky with Mujeeb’s injury, but our seamers and even Nabi bowled brilliantly with the new ball. That made our job easier as spinners.
“We have enjoyed this tournament. We will accept playing a semi-final and losing to a top side like Africa. It is just the beginning for us, we have the confidence and belief to beat any side. We just need to keep our processes. This has been a great learning experience for us. What we take from the competition is the belief. We know we have the skills, it is just about managing tough situations, pressure situations.”
South Africa vs Afghanistan: SA Secures Final Spot by Crushing Afg in T20 World Cup
It should be mentioned that in the first semi-final at Brian Lara Stadium, South Africa defeated Afghanistan with relative ease, winning by nine wickets.
South Africa has never before advanced to the World Cup final (T20 and ODI).
In the T20 World Cup 2024 semifinal, Africa chased a low target of 57 runs in just 8.5 overs with the loss of only one wicket. The Afghan team was all-out on just 56 runs.
Confirmed: T20 World Cup 2024 Semi-Final Dates and Venues
Fazalhaq Farooqi removed Quinton de Kock (5 off 8) early in the innings, but South Africa easily over the finish line with to the efforts of captain Aiden Markram (23 off 21) and opener Reeza Hendricks (29 off 25).
Afghanistan had earlier chosen to bat against South Africa after winning the toss.
After a brilliant bowling performance by the Proteas, Afghanistan was knocked out for just 56 runs in 11.5 overs while batting first.
Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje each took two wickets, while Marco Jansen and Tabrazi Shamsi got three wickets apiece.
Azmatullah Omarzai was the only player to reach double figures in a poor batting performance with 10 runs.
Mohammad Nabi, Noor Ahmad, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz were all sent out for a duck.
Afghanistan World Cup Semi-Final Dream Comes True After Win Against Bangladesh
The lowest total scored by a team in a T20 World Cup semifinal is 56 all-out. Afghanistan’s T20I total is also the lowest to date.
In men’s T20Is, this is also the lowest total ever in a knockout game. The previous low was 62 all-out against Uganda in the 2023 ACA Cup semifinals for Botswana.
Lowest totals by a team in T20 World Cups
55 – ENG vs WI, Dubai, 2021
56 – AFG vs SA, Tarouba, 2024*
60 – NZ vs SL, Chattogram, 2014
70 – BAN vs NZ, Kolkata, 2016
“Think the guys played really well and executed well. For us, it was just sticking to the plan and bowling our best ball. The assessment was the wicket was giving us a few to work with and we just wanted to keep it simple. We will enjoy [the win] and be on it again tomorrow,” Marco Jansen said after bagging the Player of the Match award.
Follow Our Offical WhatsApp Channel thestumpblog
Both teams made no changes to their lineup for this match.