215/10 (40.3)
CR : 5.31
284/10 (49.5)
CR : 5.70
Afghanistan won by 69 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
M Ur Rahman
3/5128(16)
Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Player of the Match): "It's a proud feeling to be here in the World Cup and beating the defending champions. It's this kind of opportunity that we work hard for and really proud of the boys.
As a spinner, it is always hard to bowl in the powerplay with only two fielders out on the boundary. But I have been working hard and trying to be consistent with my lines and lengths. I try to attack the stumps and even when I'm bowling in the nets, I try to bowl straight.
We knew the dew was going to come and play a part in the latter half. The wicket was good and the ball was holding a bit on the surface. The mindset was there to hit the right areas even if there was dew.
It's all about the management. They give me confidence in the nets. I just try to hit the ball while batting in the nets and I want to contribute while batting lower down the order. Those 20-25 runs will prove to be crucial.
I want to dedicate this 'Player of the Match' award to all the victims of the earthquake back home."
As a spinner, it is always hard to bowl in the powerplay with only two fielders out on the boundary. But I have been working hard and trying to be consistent with my lines and lengths. I try to attack the stumps and even when I'm bowling in the nets, I try to bowl straight.
We knew the dew was going to come and play a part in the latter half. The wicket was good and the ball was holding a bit on the surface. The mindset was there to hit the right areas even if there was dew.
It's all about the management. They give me confidence in the nets. I just try to hit the ball while batting in the nets and I want to contribute while batting lower down the order. Those 20-25 runs will prove to be crucial.
I want to dedicate this 'Player of the Match' award to all the victims of the earthquake back home."
Ajay: With this win, Afghanistan move to 6th position in the points table. And now, the five-time champions Australia are slipped down to the bottom. Who would have thought this at the beginning of the tournament?
Rashid Khan: "This is a big win for us. This kind of performance gives us the belief that we can beat any side on any day.
Cricket is something that brings joy to the people back home. Winning the game against England is big for us. Lately, we had an earthquake back home. Over 3000 people lost their lives. I feel this victory will just give something to smile for the people back home
I made it clear to everyone in the dressing room. Whatever happens in the tournament, we just have to fight till the end. We made small goals for ourselves. You just have to be happy that you gave your 100% while going back to the hotel.
More than three wickets, scoring those runs, I was really happy with that. Also, the cover drive against Mark Wood. I'm happy. After a long time, I got three wickets.
Mujeeb has been contributing consistently for us. We have been bowling together in the nets. We have been batting together in the nets. We discuss what's the best ball to bowl on the wicket. Sharing information helps us. I'm lucky to have him around. Also, we have Nabi and great to have him who has plenty of experience.
It's a special occasion for Nabi. 150th game for him. Also, 100th game for Rahmat Shah. We said that we would celebrate after the win. This will be a memorable win for him. We lost to England in the 2016 T20 World Cup here. We had a discussion about it. We restricted them to 140 but had a collapse. We learnt from the mistakes and really happy to win tonight."
Cricket is something that brings joy to the people back home. Winning the game against England is big for us. Lately, we had an earthquake back home. Over 3000 people lost their lives. I feel this victory will just give something to smile for the people back home
I made it clear to everyone in the dressing room. Whatever happens in the tournament, we just have to fight till the end. We made small goals for ourselves. You just have to be happy that you gave your 100% while going back to the hotel.
More than three wickets, scoring those runs, I was really happy with that. Also, the cover drive against Mark Wood. I'm happy. After a long time, I got three wickets.
Mujeeb has been contributing consistently for us. We have been bowling together in the nets. We have been batting together in the nets. We discuss what's the best ball to bowl on the wicket. Sharing information helps us. I'm lucky to have him around. Also, we have Nabi and great to have him who has plenty of experience.
It's a special occasion for Nabi. 150th game for him. Also, 100th game for Rahmat Shah. We said that we would celebrate after the win. This will be a memorable win for him. We lost to England in the 2016 T20 World Cup here. We had a discussion about it. We restricted them to 140 but had a collapse. We learnt from the mistakes and really happy to win tonight."
Jos Buttler (England Captain): "Yeah, disappointing. Having won the toss and bowling first, it was a disappointing first 14 overs. Right from ball one, which was down leg, I fumbled to collect. It is a tough loss to digest but congratulations to Afghanistan.
Yeah, they have a fantastic attack. Obviously, the dew didn't come and favour us. Bit of spin and uneven bounce, but Afghanistan made full use of it. They have some fantastic spinners. The dew didn't come as we expected. It all came down to the execution. Batting and bowling, and in both departments, they outplayed us.
The pitch held up a bit, and they kept bowling dead straight at the stumps. We weren't quite up to the mark.
Yeah, I think we have to let these defeats hurt us. There is no point in shadowing it. You have to let these defeats hurt for a while, then maybe think of a comeback. We need to reflect on this instead of getting over this quickly.
We weren't there where we wanted to be as a unit. This is a learning. There are a lot of characters in the group, and we should show some resilience and come back stronger.
We need to have guys who perform under pressure, and that is what we are all working hard towards."
Yeah, they have a fantastic attack. Obviously, the dew didn't come and favour us. Bit of spin and uneven bounce, but Afghanistan made full use of it. They have some fantastic spinners. The dew didn't come as we expected. It all came down to the execution. Batting and bowling, and in both departments, they outplayed us.
The pitch held up a bit, and they kept bowling dead straight at the stumps. We weren't quite up to the mark.
Yeah, I think we have to let these defeats hurt us. There is no point in shadowing it. You have to let these defeats hurt for a while, then maybe think of a comeback. We need to reflect on this instead of getting over this quickly.
We weren't there where we wanted to be as a unit. This is a learning. There are a lot of characters in the group, and we should show some resilience and come back stronger.
We need to have guys who perform under pressure, and that is what we are all working hard towards."
Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan Captain): "I'm quite happy and everyone is happy, this was the best victory we could get, confidence will be there for the next game and everyone in the country will be happy with this victory.
Lot of credit to the openers, they gave us a big platform but unfortunately we lost back-to-back wickets in the middle again, so we have to improve upon that. Credit to Gurbaz.
Given the opportunity today he showed that we appreciated his efforts. Yes, Mujeeb can be an all-rounder now,, he showed against Pakistan and Sri-Lanka and today he scored important runs.
We have to score runs for our spinners to be able to defend and the world knows about their quality and I'm proud of their display today. Fazal bowled very well with Mujeeb in the first 10 overs and the wicket was very important to gain momentum.
When we were batting I saw the batters struggling against spinners and in the dressing room we spoke about 280-290 because the surface will support the spinners. Last couple of games we did not perform well and we are looking for more wins, and this was the first one but not the last one."
Lot of credit to the openers, they gave us a big platform but unfortunately we lost back-to-back wickets in the middle again, so we have to improve upon that. Credit to Gurbaz.
Given the opportunity today he showed that we appreciated his efforts. Yes, Mujeeb can be an all-rounder now,, he showed against Pakistan and Sri-Lanka and today he scored important runs.
We have to score runs for our spinners to be able to defend and the world knows about their quality and I'm proud of their display today. Fazal bowled very well with Mujeeb in the first 10 overs and the wicket was very important to gain momentum.
When we were batting I saw the batters struggling against spinners and in the dressing room we spoke about 280-290 because the surface will support the spinners. Last couple of games we did not perform well and we are looking for more wins, and this was the first one but not the last one."
9:55 PM IST, Local Time | A day for the history books for Afghanistan! An impressive performance and a huge boost for their journey ahead in this World Cup! Join us back tomorrow for more exciting action!
Until then, this is Anirudh Modi, signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Akshay Bhide and AkshayaKrishna Polya, and our scorer/analyst Raju Khariya! See you on the next one!
Until then, this is Anirudh Modi, signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Akshay Bhide and AkshayaKrishna Polya, and our scorer/analyst Raju Khariya! See you on the next one!