Bridgetown, June 21 (HS). After his side's 47-run defeat against India in the Super Eight match of the T20 World Cup 2024 on Thursday, Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan said that the players felt they could chase 170-180 runs in Barbados.
Captain Rashid led the Afghan bowling attack in the first innings and took three wickets for 26 runs in his four-over spell. However, he could not do much in batting and could score only two runs in six balls.
After the match, Rashid said that they should have thought that they could chase such a target. The 25-year-old Rashid admitted that he had to struggle in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL).
Rashid said, “It was a surface on which we thought we could chase 170-180 runs. You just go out there and play against big teams, we should think that we have to chase such a score. The body is feeling good. I struggled a bit in the IPL. I am now hitting areas consistently. We have enjoyed it wherever we have played. We sometimes forget our skills. If the conditions are favorable, we will try to use it.”
In this match, India won the toss and decided to bat first. India was struggling at one point after losing 4 wickets for 90 runs, then there was a match saving partnership of 60 runs between Suryakumar Yadav (53 runs in 28 balls, five fours and three sixes) and Hardik Pandya (32 runs in 24 balls, three fours and two sixes), which helped India reach a score of 181 runs for 8 wickets in their 20 overs.
Rashid Khan (3/26) and Fazalhaq Farooqi (3/33) bowled brilliantly for Afghanistan.
Chasing a target of 182, Afghanistan never looked dangerous and lost wickets regularly. Azmatullah Umarzai (26 off 20 balls, two fours and a six) was the only batsman to cross the 20-run mark. Afghanistan were bowled out for 134 in 20 overs. Suryakumar Yadav was awarded the 'Player of the Match' award.