GUYANA (Reuters): Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan praised the team’s collective display after they claimed an emphatic 84-run victory over New Zealand in the Twenty20 World Cup on Friday.
Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (80) and Ibrahim Zadrau (44) combined for 103 runs to power Afghanistan to a total of 159, before Rashid and Fazalhaq Farooqi took four wickets apiece as New Zealand were skittled out for just 75.
“One of the greatest performances from us in T20I cricket against a big team. It is a great team effort,” Rashid said after the win at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.
“Great win for Afghanistan and it is a privilege to be leading this side and winning against New Zealand … It started from the batting, with how Ibrahim and Gurbaz were running.
“We have to give 100% effort, losing or winning does not matter (to me). That is how we prepare. If we don’t give 100%, we will be missing something. I don’t care about the result a lot but it is about the effort.”
Gurbaz, named player of the match, echoed his captain’s sentiment, adding: “Nothing is more special.
“We were waiting for this victory for three years. We finally beat them. The trust and the belief was there from the very start. We have the belief that we can beat any team on this surface.”
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson admitted that his side had been outplayed “in all facets”, but stressed that they could not afford to dwell on the result.
“To get a total like that on a fiddly surface, they kept wickets in hand and played it beautifully,” Williamson said.
“Not good enough from us. Quick turnaround, we have to regroup quickly and onto the next challenge. The boys were focussed and were working hard in preparation for this game but it was not our best performance.”
New Zealand next face co-hosts West Indies on June 12, a day before Afghanistan take on Papua New Guinea.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar) – Reuters