West Indian batting legend Brian Lara had predicted almost a month earlier than the T20 World Cup that Afghanistan would attain the semifinals, and now that the crew has made it, skipper Rashid Khan expressed immense delight in proving him proper.
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“The one man who put us within the semifinals was Brian Lara and we proved him proper. Once we met him at a welcome social gathering, I advised him we cannot allow you to down,” Rashid was quoted as saying by PTI on the post-match presentation.
Rashid credited their win over New Zealand within the group stage for reinforcing their confidence to advance to the semifinals. “It is a dream for us to be within the semifinals. The best way we began the match, the idea got here once we beat New Zealand. It is unbelievable,” he recalled.
Afghanistan additionally achieved a historic victory over Australia earlier than defeating Bangladesh within the ultimate Tremendous eight fixture, organising a semifinal match with South Africa on June 27.
Rashid anticipated important celebrations again residence following their achievement.
“It is a huge achievement for us as nicely. We’ve got completed that at U-19 stage however at this World Cup, I haven’t got any phrases to explain the sensation again residence. We’ve got to enter the semis with a really clear thoughts and ensure we benefit from the event,” he mentioned.
The Afghanistan skipper felt that they have been 15 runs brief on the break.
“We thought 130-135 was a great rating however we fell 15 runs brief. We knew they’d come laborious at us, and we knew that’s what we might benefit from. We did not have to do something additional, simply be clear in our plans,” Rashid mentioned.
Rashid praised pacers Naveen and Fazalhaq Farooqi have been distinctive with the brand new ball all through the marketing campaign.
“In T20s if you happen to get a great begin, it helps us within the center overs. They’ve given nice begins to us in the entire competitors. It makes it simpler for us to go tougher on the batsmen,” Rashid mentioned. “They’ve delivered, they have been very clear of their minds.”
Regardless of a number of rain interruptions that finally shortened the match, Rashid mentioned the crew was mentally ready to take all 10 wickets. “Rain is one thing not in our fingers however mentally we knew we now have to play 20 overs and take 10 wickets. That is the one means we might win. However Gulbadin had some cramps. However his wicket was invaluable to us,” he mentioned.
