It was a sense of Deja vu for Afghanistan cricket team in the ongoing Asia Cup as they faced heartbreak yet again, this time to Sri Lanka, and crashed out of the Asia Cup. Needing just six runs from the last three balls in the 38th over, Afghan batters Farooqi and Mujeeb Rahman could not achieve the target as they fell short of just two runs. A dejected Rashid Khan was watching the action unfold from one end and could not control his emotions when Afghanistan yet again failed to cross the hurdle.
When asked about the error in judgement made by the Afghani batters in the post-match press conference, the Afghanistan head coach said, “We never communicated those calculations”.
“All we were communicated was we needed to win in 37.1 overs. We weren’t told what the overs in which we could get 295 or 297. [That we could win in] 38.1 overs was never communicated to us, further added.
For the uninitiated, Afghanistan were required to chase down 291 in just 38.1 overs overs to qualify for Super 4s. But a miscalculation of sorts happened and Afghan tailenders decided to block all the balls after 37.1 balls and denied the strike to Rashid Khan. During Asia Cup 2018, Afghanistan failed to deliver knockout punch on the Indians and were knocked out of the Continental Cup. History repeated itself, as this time they lost a match, which they almost had in their grasp.
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Asia Cup 2023: Afghanistan crash out of Super 4s, IND, PAK, SL & BAN qualify
Afghanistan were the second team to exit from the Asia Cup after losing both their games to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Nepal was the first to crash out of the Asia Cup after facing huge defeats against Pakistan and India. It was yet so near for Afghans.
Before the Asia Cup heartbreaking loss, the Rashid Khan-powered side also lost a close match to Pakistan. But the Asia Cup loss would have been a bitter pill to swallow, as they had done all the hard yards, only to find out that a lack of miscommunication denied them a win.
Speaking about Super 4s, Pakistan will take on Bangladesh today, and later play India on Saturday. From Super 4s top two teams will qualify for the finals.
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