Afghanistan skipper Mohammad Nabi rues batting collapse after close defeat
Afghanistan gave Australia a scare to remember in their final group match of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022. The Mohammad Nabi-led side covered 164 of the 169 they required against a disciplined Australian attack, owing to some remarkable rearguard fightback from Rashid Khan.
The all-rounder blasted 48* from just 23 balls, and took his side to a striking distance within Australia’s total.
Notably, the Afghanistan team was comfortably cruising in the run-chase at one stage, having raced to 98-2 after 13 overs. However, a triple strike from Adam Zampa and Josh Hazlewood, coupled with a runout in between, all in quick succession, left Khan with too much to do in the death overs.
Mohammad Nabi rues middle-overs collapse
Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi admitted that his team tilted the match in Australia’s favour by losing four quick wickets in the middle overs. He said:
“A really good game of cricket. They started really well but at the end, Naveen and Farooqi bowled well and it was not a big total on that pitch. We started well in the powerplay and the middle, but threw away four wickets back-to-back and that put us under pressure.”
With Afghanistan’s rain-marred World Cup campaign coming to an end, the senior cricketer also expressed his disappointment as they finished the group stage at the bottom of the Group 1 points table. Highlighting their two washout games, he stated:
“Tough when you play the first game and then do not play for 10 days. We didn’t get that momentum but improved every game from there.”
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