CHENNAI: Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan admitted his side fell short in key phases, particularly with the ball and during the powerplay, and noted the areas where the team could improve after they suffered a five-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the opening game of Group D of the T20 World Cup at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.
Afghanistan posted a competitive 182/6 after being put in to bat, built around a well-paced innings from Gulbadin Naib, who struck 63 off 35 balls to anchor the middle overs. Contributions from Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli and late cameos from Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi helped push the total beyond 180, a score Rashid believed was defendable on the surface.
Reflecting on the bowling effort, Rashid said, “We learnt a lot with the ball. I thought 182 was a good score to defend but we gave too many balls to score.”
Afghanistan made early inroads in the chase, with Mujeeb Ur Rahman removing Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra inside the first two overs to leave New Zealand 14/2. However, Tim Seifert’s counterattacking 65 and a brisk partnership with Glenn Phillips swung momentum firmly in New Zealand’s favor, exposing Afghanistan’s inability to maintain pressure through the middle overs.
Rashid acknowledged that plans were in place but execution let the side down. “We already have the meetings for Plan A, Plan B. It's about the execution. We haven't landed the ball in the right areas.”
The Afghanistan skipper felt conditions demanded a fuller commitment to a disciplined length, especially as the pitch slowed slightly. “If we had bowled into the wicket and at good length, it was difficult to score.”
Despite the defeat, Rashid pointed to positives, singling out Naib’s approach with the bat. “Gulbadin came up and showed us the right intent to score.”
Looking ahead, Rashid stressed the need for improvement at the top of the innings and in the crucial powerplay phase. “We need to improve in certain areas. The opening has to improve, how we play the first six overs matters.”
New Zealand eventually completed the chase at 183/5 with 15 balls to spare. Afghanistan will aim to regroup quickly ahead of their next Group D clash against South Africa.