T20 WC: Curran thriving with extra responsibility in death overs: England skipper Buttler after win over Afghanistan
Oct 22, 2022
Perth [Australia], October 22 : Following his side's five-wicket win over Afghanistan in their ICC T20 World Cup match, England captain Jos Buttler said lauded all-rounder Sam Curran's performance in the match, saying that he is thriving with extra responsibility to perform well in death overs and demands the ball in such situations.
England downed a fighting Afghanistan by five wickets in their Group 1, Super 12 match in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2022 at Perth on Saturday.
"Coming into the tournament, there are always a few nerves. We have been playing a lot of cricket to build up to this point. There is a lot of anticipation. To get out there and get a win under our belt is fantastic. Fielding is a huge part of this game. It was a fantastic effort. Mark Wood is always fun to keep wicket to, he is someone who can create catches. He is very vital. He has been backing up games and has been a great asset," said Buttler in a post-match presentation.
"I think he has got great character for that role (Curran at the death). He is thriving with the extra responsibility. He demands the ball in those situations which is a great attitude to have. He always wants to bowl. Felt like the ball swung early, Afghanistan have a talented bowling attack, we were challenged and we had to pay respect. It could have been more fluent but Afghanistan bowled well," he added.
With this win, England is at number 2 in the points table with two points, while Afghanistan is at second last place with none.
Coming to the match, Afghanistan were bundled out by England for just 112 in 19.4 overs.
Batters Ibrahim Zadran and Usman Ghani, who scored 32 and 30 respectively, tried their level best to resist the brutal pace of English bowlers despite a steady fall of wickets from the other end.
Besides Curran, Ben Stokes (2/19) and Mark Wood (2/23) also bowled well. Chris Woakes also clinched a wicket.
Chasing 113, England was off to a solid start, with opener Jos Buttler (18) and Alex Hales (19) providing a solid 35-run stand.
However, Afghanistan bowlers fought extremely well, reducing England to 97/5.
In the end, Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali took their side to the target safely, finishing at 113/5 in 18.1 overs, with Livingstone (29*) and Ali (8*) unbeaten.
Farooqi, Mujeeb, Rashid, Nabi and Fareed took a wicket each but they could not seal the win for their side.
Curran got the 'Man of the Match' title for his brilliant 5/10.
Brief Scores: Afghanistan: 112 in 19.4 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 32, Usman Ghani 30, Sam Curran 5/10) lost to England: 113/5 in 18.1 overs (Liam Livingstone 29*, Alex Hales 19, Rashid Khan 1/17).
