Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott has said that his team is not in the semifinal to compete but they are here to win. The Rashid Khan-led team created history as they defeated Australia and Bangladesh in the Super 8 stage to qualify for the semifinal.
Afghanistan has been brilliant with the ball whereas their openers – Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran – have done the bulk of the scoring.
Meanwhile, Fazalhaq Farooqi is the leading wicket-taker with 17 wickets in seven matches whereas Naveen-ul-Haq has bagged 13 wickets in as many games. Furthermore, Rashid Khan has also led from the front as the talismanic leg-spinner has bagged 14 wickets in seven games at an average of 12.21.
Afghanistan deserves a lot of credit for bringing their best in the big matches and keeping their calm in the crunch situations.
Jonathan Trot said in the pre-match press conference, “I just think batting we’ve got to be better all around – we left a lot of runs out there. Yes, it wasn’t the greatest of wickets but so many times just bat on ball we just missed so many balls where we could have got singles or perhaps look to hit it in the gaps. But just a little bit of a narrow experience. I’m not sure if it’s a little bit of nerves. But heck, we’re in the semi-final now, nothing to lose. Very, very positive from now on in. But by no means do we feel like we’re going into the semi-final just to compete.”
“We’re there to win the semi-final. We’ve seen we’ve beaten some major teams. We’ve won by large margins. We’ve won by tight margins. We’ve won in close games. So that’s going to serve us well going forward to the semi-final,” said Trott.
The former England flamboyant batter wants Afghanistan to improve in a few areas and be fearless in the all-important semifinal clash against the Proteas.
“I think it’s a case of us just looking at what we need to improve on, which is a few little areas. Nothing too major, just tighten up. I think it’s just a sort of mindset shift if I like. But I also think, we go into the semi-final with no scarring or no history with regards to semi-finals. This is uncharted territory for us. We’re just going to go out there and give it our all. There’s no preconceived ideas on it all, or history of failure or success in semifinals in past years. For us it’s a new challenge and I think that makes us dangerous in the semifinals as a side with nothing to lose and obviously a lot of pressure on the opposition,” said Trott.
Afghanistan will face South Africa in the first semifinal at the Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad on Wednesday.
