We did not put good total on board: Afghanistan skipper Nabi after loss to England in T20 World Cup
Oct 22, 2022
Perth [Australia], October 22 : Following Afghanistan's five-wicket loss to England in their ICC T20 World Cup 2022 match, skipper Mohammad Nabi said his side tried to play their best cricket and will learn from their mistakes to do well in next game.
England defeated a fighting Afghanistan by five wickets in their Group 1, Super 12 match in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 at Perth on Saturday.
"It is not a good start, but we tried our best to play good cricket. Everyone knows England are one of the best teams. The pitch was more suitable for England. We did not put a good total on the board. They took two-three good catches. We thought 140-150 would be a good total fight but we could not get there. If we put a good total, we have quality spinners. Me, Rash and Mujeeb have the experience of playing in the BBL. We will look to learn from our mistakes in the next game," said Nabi in a post-match presentation.
England now are at second position on the points table with two points, while Afghanistan is at second last place with none.
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 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 reduced 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.
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).
