"The only guy who put us in the semifinals was Brian Lara and we proved him right." : Rashid Khan
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Afghanistan defeated Bangladesh by eight runs (DRS) in their final Super 8 match of the ongoing competition on Tuesday, earning their first-ever T20 World Cup semifinal position.
Afghanistan’s captain, Rashid Khan, expressed great delight in the team’s achievement of reaching the semifinals, fulfilling the prediction made by West Indian batting icon Brian Lara over a month before the T20 World Cup.
“The only guy who put us in the semifinals was Brian Lara and we proved him right. When we met him at a welcome party, I told him we won’t let you down,” Rashid was quoted as saying by PTI at the post-match presentation.
Rashid credited their win over New Zealand in the group stage for boosting their confidence to advance to the semifinals. “It’s a dream for us to be in the semifinals. The way we started the tournament, the belief came when we beat New Zealand. It’s unbelievable,” he recalled.
Before defeating Bangladesh in the last Super 8 match, Afghanistan had made history against Australia. This set up a semifinal match on June 27 with South Africa. Rashid expected big celebrations when they got home after their success.
“It’s a big achievement for us as well. We have done that at U-19 level but at this World Cup, I don’t have any words to describe the feeling back home. We have to go into the semis with a very clear mind and make sure we enjoy the occasion,” he said.
At the half, the Afghanistan captain believed they were short by fifteen runs.
“We thought 130-135 was a good score but we fell 15 runs short. We knew they would come hard at us, and we knew that is what we could take advantage of. We didn’t need to do anything extra, just be clear in our plans,” Rashid said.
Rashid honored the pacers. Throughout the campaign, Naveen and Fazalhaq Farooqi have performed admirably with the new ball.
“In 20s if you get a good start, it helps us in the middle overs. They have given great starts to us in the whole competition. It makes it easier for us to go harder at the batsmen,” Rashid said. “They have delivered, they were very clear in their minds.”
Rashid stated that the team was mentally ready to take all ten wickets, despite multiple rain delays that ultimately caused the game to be curtailed. “We knew in our minds that we had to play 20 overs and take 10 wickets, but the rain is something beyond our control. There is no other way for us to prevail. But Gulbadin was experiencing cramping. However, we really valued his wicket,” he remarked.
Afghanistan’s victory over Bangladesh in their last Super 8 game earned them a ticket in their first-ever T20 World Cup semifinal. Afghanistan’s captain, Rashid Khan, took great delight in confirming West Indian batting star Brian Lara’s prediction that the country will make it to the quarterfinals. They proved his claim that Lara was the only one who could have advanced them to the semifinals.
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