Guyana [West Indies], June 8 (ANI): Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan described their 84-run thumping victory against New Zealand in the T20 World Cup 2024 as "one of the greatest performances" by the team in the cricket's shortest format.
Spin wizard Rashid Khan and pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi sliced through the New Zealand batting order to help Afghanistan demolish the Blackcaps, registering an 84 runs victory in the Group C match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024 at the Providence Stadium on Friday (local time).
With two out of two victories, Afghanistan solidified their chances of qualifying from Group C. The Blackcaps were outplayed in all aspects, as the Afghans continue unearthing T20 stars that have the nation daring to dream in the Caribbean.
New Zealand gave away Afghanistan too many lifelines in the field, which backfired on the Kiwis as they paid dearly for it and suffered an uncharacteristic collapse with the bat.
Afghanistan made their 159-run defence look rather one-sided by bowling New Zealand out for 75 with Fazalhaq Farooqi and Rashid bagging four wickets, respectively.
"One of our best T20 performances from us, especially against a big team like New Zealand. The wicket wasn't easy to score, and Gurbaz and Ibrahim batted well, it was a superb performance with the bat, ball and field. I'm really happy to be leading this team," Rashid Khan said in a post-match presentation.
Rashid said that a score of 160-170 would be acceptable on this surface because he was confident in his bowling attack, despite Mujeeb Ur Rahman's absence due to a hand injury.
"I was fine with that (on the slow start), we scored 30 odd in the first six overs, and we just chatted about going on from there, playing our natural game, keeping the scoreboard ticking and that's what happened. We knew anything around 160-170, we've the bowlers for these wickets - we just needed to hit consistent lines and lengths, Nabi's second over was a positive, and there was a bit of spin. If we use our skills, it's tough to chase down 160 against us," he added.
"The energy in the field, the effort, the running between the wickets was amazing. Win or lose, we just need to give our 100 per cent, if we don't give it, we'll miss something. I don't worry about the result as long as we put in the effort," Rashid stated.
Farooqi took five wickets - for nine runs - against Uganda and picked up where he left off, nabbing figures of 17/4 off 3.2 overs, including the match-sealing dismissal.
Rashid hailed the "amazing" performance of Farooqi who bagged four wickets in the match against four-wicket haul.
"He has been giving us the base, the way he's bowled in the two matches has been amazing, he's very skilful, but he can continue to work on his bases and become even better," he added.
In their next match, Afghanistan will take on Papua New Guinea at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad next week. (ANI)
