At the Providence Stadium in Guyana, Afghanistan defeated Uganda by 125 runs to start their ICC T20 World Cup 2024 campaign in a spectacular manner. After their recent success in the ODI World Cup, captain Rashid Khan was ecstatic about the emphatic win and felt his squad could defeat any opposition.
Following an inspiring showing in the ODI World Cup in India last year, the Afghan team hopes to carry that momentum into the T20 World Cup. Khan cautioned other teams and praised his team’s performance overall.
“We gained a lot of confidence from the last World Cup. That made us think that we could defeat any side at any time. In addition to skill and aptitude, it’s also important to have faith in oneself and focus on what we are doing rather than what the opposition is doing, as stated by Rashid Khan and cited by India Today.
As a team, we were hoping for a start like this: Rashid Khan
The Afghan captain also emphasised the value of mental preparedness and getting off to a strong start in a competition like the World Cup.
“As a squad, we were hoping for this kind of start. It is all in the mindset, regardless of who we play. The team’s effort over the previous few weeks, the way the openers got off to a strong start, and the bowlers’ performances were all excellent, he continued.
In regards to the game, Afghanistan’s openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (76) and Ibrahim Zadran (70), set the tone with a scorching opening partnership of 154 runs after Uganda captain Brian Masaba won the toss and chose to bat first. The side scored 183/5 overall, despite a middle-order hiccup.
The Afghan bowlers exceeded expectations if their batting sparked hopes. Fazalhaq Farooqi’s 5/9 lead them in dismissing Uganda’s batters for just 58 runs. They did not let the batsmen relax.
Rashid wants his team to keep things straightforward for their second Group C match against New Zealand on June 8 at the same location. “We have a big game coming up. It’s important to keep things straightforward,” Rashid said.
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