Rashid Khan said that losing early wickets did not help Afghanistan in their first T20I against Zimbabwe, which they lost by four wickets at the Harare Sports Club. After opting to bat, the Afghans were reduced to 58 for five in 10.4 overs. Although he visitors recovered through a 79-run stand between Karim Janat and Mohammad Nabi, it wasn’t enough for them eventually.
Rashid said that the score of 144 for six that the Afghans got was below par. He also said that his team’s bowling needs to be better going forward. Azmatullah Omarzai could not defend 11 runs in the last over.
Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan, 1st T20I: HIGHLIGHTS
“We wanted to put up a good total on the board. We were only 15-17 runs short, it was still a good total. Nabi and Karim played really well in the middle,” Rashid said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“We gave away so many wickets early on and in T20s, it is hard to come back. We could have bowled better than that (what we did). As a professional player, you have to adjust – that is something you have to do early in the tour. You spend some time and then react. Whenever we come here, we talk about assessing the conditions. Later on, we have the shots. It is hard to bat if you don’t really see the wicket,” Rashid said.
Rashid also had words of praise for Mohammad Nabi, who became the first Afghan cricketer to play 300 international matches. Nabi scored 44 off 27 in a crisis and picked up the crucial wicket of Dion Myers.
“The way he (Nabi) bowled, he brought us back in the game, he got a crucial wicket. We have so many options, so at times, it is hard to decide as skipper. It is just about deciding what the team needs at that time,” Rashid added.
The Afghans will be looking to bounce back when the second T20I takes place on Friday, December 13.
