Following a setback against Afghanistan that left Australia speechless at Arnos Vale Ground, captain Mitchell Marsh issued a warning to his teammates ahead of their final Super 8 clash against unbeaten India at the T20 World Cup 2024. The feisty Afghanistan’s performance left Australia in a peculiar situation. Australia will now enter the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St. Lucia to take on India in a must-win match. As the Baggy Greens look to bounce back from their recent setback, Marsh emphasized the need to win against India.
“First of all, it’s clear to us. We need to win, and there’s no better team to do it against. Full credit to Afghanistan for tonight, and we’ll move forward quickly,” Marsh said in the post-match presentation.
Things did not go well for Australia, who were looking to achieve a victory and seal their place in the semi-final.
Catches were abandoned and a couple of fielding errors led to boundaries. Ashton Agar misjudging the ball when he went for a four was an example of his struggles.
Eventually, it came back to haunt Australia as a couple of errors in the field allowed Afghanistan to put 148/6 on the board.
“They got 20 too many. And to be honest, they played a very good game of cricket. We were outplayed tonight,” Marsh added.
Marsh won the toss and decided to bowl. Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan admitted that they wanted to bat because the record indicated that chasing a target on the surface was exhausting work.
“We thought about it. A lot of teams have bowled first in this World Cup to get an idea of the surface. Don’t think we lost in the toss. It was a bad night for us on the field, and “It wasn’t an easy ground, but both teams played on this surface,” concluded Marsh.
With their fate hanging in the balance, Australia will take on India at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St. Lucia, on Monday to fight for their place in the semi-finals.
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