Afghanistan’s heroic run at the 2024 T20 World Cup came to an end at the penultimate hurdle, as the Rashid Khan-led side suffered a lopsided 9-wicket defeat against South Africa in Trinidad . By choosing to bat first, Afghanistan could only put 56 runs on the board, their lowest in T20 internationals and also the lowest in the history of T20 World Cups. After Afghanistan’s run in the competition ended on Wednesday, head coach Jonathan Trott ” lashed out at ICC, saying it was not even an “equal contest”.
Speaking to the media at the post-match press conference, Trott said that while he did not want to get into trouble, he wanted to highlight the poor quality of the pitch prepared for such an important clash as a semi-final. -World Cup final. -final.
“I don’t want to get in trouble. But I also don’t want to seem a bit ‘sour grapes’, but this is not the pitch you want to play in a Cup semi-final on. World. Simple and simple. It should be a fair fight. I’m not saying it should be completely flat, with no spinning or seam movement, you should have no worries moving forward and flying the ball to the. “over your head. crossing the line or using their skills and T20 is about attacking, scoring runs and taking wickets, not trying to survive,” Trott said in the press conference.
Trott wanted the pitch to offer something for both his team and South Africa. However, he believes his team was defeated by a surface that favored the opposing team more.
“If the opponent has played well and puts you in position after playing well and thanks to your talent, then it suits them. Then it’s about adapting. »
“If we had played like South Africa, we could have seen a different second half,” he said while speaking to the media.
Jonathan Trott on Afghanistan programme
Trott also spoke about the busy schedule the Afghan team was exposed to. But he didn’t point the finger at the schedule to explain his team’s embarrassing semifinal loss.
“We didn’t get back to the hotel until three o’clock and then we had to leave at eight o’clock, which was five hours later, so we didn’t get much sleep, so the guys were obviously very tired and had a lot to deal with emotionally, so it’s new territory for guys,” Trott said. That said, Trott admitted they were outplayed by a strong South African unit.
“But we knew the schedule, so it’s not an excuse as such. When you go to World Cups or tournaments, you can’t do everything your way, and you have to fight and play against all odds. sometimes and I’m very proud of that. But that’s not the reason we didn’t win today. “South Africa played well, used the conditions and showed. to our boys what she was capable of. But it didn’t go the way we wanted tonight.” The 43-year-old hopes the semi-final defeat will serve as a learning experience for the team who have improved by leaps and bounds over the five last years.
“…we obviously have a better one than the previous (ODI) World Cup in November and it’s just about taking it step by step and hopefully we learn from today, the batting certainly.
“What it takes to play international cricket and face a bowling team like South Africa on a pitch that is perhaps not conducive to high-scoring runs and finding ways to win games… we just couldn’t find a way today.” Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (0) and Ibrahim Zadran (2), who were Afghanistan’s leading run-scorers in the tournament, both failed, putting pressure on the middle-order who had not fired at all during the tournament.
“No one else scored points. We have to find a reason for that,” Trott said.
Despite the loss to South Africa, Afghanistan can hold their heads high, having made their mark in the tournament and elevated their status as an elite team.
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