Afghanistan’s heroic run in the 2024 T20 World Cup came to an end at the penultimate hurdle, as the Rashid Khan-led team suffered a lopsided 9-wicket defeat against South Africa in Trinidad. By opting to bat first, Afghanistan could only score 56 runs, the lowest in T20 internationals and also the lowest in the history of T20 World Cups. After Afghanistan’s journey in the competition came to an end on Wednesday, head coach Jonathan Trott infuriated ICC, saying it was not even a “close competition”.
Speaking to the media at the post-match press conference, Trott said that although he does not want to get into trouble, he does want to highlight the poor quality of the field that was prepared for a clash as big as a World Cup semi-final. -final.
“I don’t want to get into trouble. But I also don’t want to sound like ‘sour grapes’, but that’s not the field you want to have a World Cup semi-final on. Plain and simple, it should be a fair competition. I’m not saying that It should be completely flat, with no spin or seam movement, you shouldn’t have the batsmen worrying about getting forward and the ball flying over their heads or using their skills. , not looking to survive,” Trott said during the press conference.
Trott wanted the course to offer something to both his team and South Africa. However, he feels that his team was undone by a surface that favored the opposing team more.
“If the opponent played well and puts you in a position after playing well and skillfully, then it’s fine for them. So it’s about adapting.”
“If we had bowled like South Africa did, we might have seen a different second half,” he said during the chat with reporters.
Jonathan Trott on the Afghanistan agenda
Trott also spoke about the hectic schedule the Afghanistan team was exposed to. But he didn’t point to the schedule as the reason behind his team’s embarrassing loss in the semifinal.
“We got back to the hotel at three o’clock and then had to leave at eight, five hours later, so we didn’t get much sleep and the boys were obviously very tired and had a lot to process emotionally.” Physically, all new territory for the boys,” said Trott. That said, Trott admitted that they were outmatched by a strong South African unit.
“But we knew the schedule, so that’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 the odds that you have. I have done that at times. and I’m very proud of it, but no, it’s not the reason we didn’t win today.” “South Africa played well, took advantage of the conditions and showed our boys what they are capable of. But tonight it didn’t go our way.” The 43-year-old coach hoped that the defeat in the semifinals would serve as a lesson for the team that has improved by leaps and bounds in the last five years.
“…obviously we have a better World Cup than the last one (ODI) in November and it’s just about taking it step by step and hopefully we will learn from today, the batsmen certainly.
“What it takes to play international cricket and play against a bowling team like South Africa on a pitch that may not be conducive to high-scoring runs and find 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 scorers in the tournament, flopped, putting pressure on the middle order that had not worked at all in the tournament.
“No one else has gotten runs. We need to find a reason for that,” Trott said.
Despite the loss to South Africa, Afghanistan can hold their heads high as they have made their mark on the tournament and elevated their status as an elite team.
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