Afghanistan’s head coach, Jonathan Trott, thinks his team will do well in Group C, which also includes co-hosts the West Indies and New Zealand, after their victory against Uganda, which improved their net run rate. With Fazalhaq Farooqi leading the way with figures of 5 for 9, Afghanistan’s campaign got off to a crushing 125-run start against World Cup rookie Uganda. At the moment, their NRR is 6.25.
“Net run-rate may have a role in a close group with the calibre of sides,” Trott remarked following the match. “The cricket gods decide what to do with the weather and rain, so I don’t worry too much about it. However, I believe that the manner in which we played and concluded the game also gave us more confidence. Fazal Farooqi, in my opinion, bowled exceptionally effectively and was beneficial to the entire team. That’s pleasing, then.”
With a 154-run partnership, the second-highest for the first wicket in the men’s T20 World Cup, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran’s opening combination set the tone for victory. Afghanistan didn’t score a boundary in the final six overs of their innings, despite the fact that their 183 for 5 was too much for Uganda, even if Ibrahim’s departure caused them to collapse to 5 for 29 in the final overs.
“I think obviously our opening partnership was really good and set a great platform,” said Trott. “It’s clear that we didn’t take full advantage of it, and moving forward, we need to address that.” As a coach, that is a challenge for the players, but it also presents an exciting opportunity for us to improve upon what we already do well.
“I believe it’s a little bit tough to start on these wickets early in the competition, especially when playing against a ball that is a little bit older. Thus, we need to improve on that. We ought to have performed a little better given the platform we had, since we only managed thirty or so runs in the final six overs. We made some decisions and switched up the order a little bit from left to right. Perhaps this was somewhat our responsibility as coaches.
“Hopefully, we can address that in the upcoming game. We want to look into that. There is always room for improvement. Boundary hitting, variations, fielding, and death bowling. Therefore, we always want to get better.”
Also read: T20 World Cup 2024: AFG vs UGA Match 5 Highlights
Farooqi warmed the bench with Sunrisers Hyderabad during the 2024 Indian Premier League, but in his maiden T20I for Afghanistan during this World Cup, he made a big impression by recording his first five-for in the format. Uganda was finally bowled out for 58 in 16 overs, with two of those five wickets coming in the opening over of Afghanistan’s defence.
“It looks like he’s worked really hard on his game,” remarked Trott. “I’m thrilled for him today. The manner in which he was able to bowl and follow through on his ideas. His ability to swing the ball and take early wickets was demonstrated. It always puts the opposition on the defensive and moves us in the correct manner.”
With their death bowling, Uganda’s captain is pleased.
The captain of Uganda, Brian Masaba, found solace in his team’s recovery with the ball in the final overs, despite the crushing loss following Gurbaz and Ibrahim’s early attack. It was the first time in a men’s T20 World Cup innings that a team had not given up a run in the final six overs. To restrict Afghanistan’s middle-order hits, Masaba and seamer Cosmas Kyewuta shared four wickets apiece.
For us, that’s a big bonus. The final five overs of a Twenty20 match can frequently see a game move swiftly, according to Masaba. “Especially since we are putting in a lot of pressure throughout most of the innings. It’s a big plus for us to be able to return like that and limit them the way we did. We’ll try to include that in future games.”
India
