While it is admirable that Afghanistan made it to the T20 World Cup’s third elimination stage, particularly considering that they survived the difficult “Group of Death” (Group C), their last league game against the co-hosts, the West Indies, concluded in a depressing manner. Their Super 8s campaign is scheduled to begin in a few days (June 20, 2024), so they would want to forget this match, which ended in a severe defeat.
The Afghan squad, chasing a daunting 217 to win, scored a meagre 116 runs before being thoroughly bowled out in the 17th over. In addition to resulting in an overwhelming 104-run loss, this was also their second-largest run-loss in the 14-year history of T20I.
Afghanistan’s head coach Jonathan Trott reportedly said that his team might have bowled better as a unit, according to Cricbuzz. He was referring specifically to the powerplay, especially the wild fourth over that Azmatullah Omarzai bowled, which cost 36 runs. All the same, Trott thought the bowling was really good. He cited the brief interval between overs 6 and 15, when just 63 runs were conceded, as proof that the side was able to effectively contain the run flow when they bowled in the appropriate spots.
Also read: Watch: Nicholas Pooran thrashes Azmatullah Omarzai for 36 runs in an over during their match at the 2024 T20 World Cup
“Although the powerplay wasn’t perfect, I believe we bowled well after that. At times, though, I think we could have bowled a little bit better. Trott was reported by Cricbuzz as saying, “It demonstrated that if we did bowl well, we could restrict them. The following ten or so overs ran for about sixty overs.
Capable of exiting an over…: Jonathan Trott
The former English cricket player highlighted that Afghanistan’s bowlers needed to improve their damage-limitation abilities when asked what areas needed development. He emphasised that, especially if a bowler has had a rough start, it is crucial to remain composed and finish overs successfully. Trott mentioned the West Indies’ innings’ fourth and eighteenth overs, when the Afghans let up 60 runs in total and the tide turned dramatically in the West Indies’ advantage.
What areas can Afghanistan then improve? “Being able to exit an over and attempt to stop that if we don’t start it well. We had two overs today and scored 60 runs, which completely changed the game,” Trott continued.
India
