Afghanistan’s remarkable journey in the T20 World Cup 2024 ended at the semi-final stage with a heavy 9-wicket loss to South Africa in Trinidad. Opting to bat first, Afghanistan managed to score only 56 runs, their lowest total in T20 internationals and the lowest ever in T20 World Cup history.
Journey ends for team Afghanistan! 🇦🇫
– A T20 World Cup Semis for the first time by defeating the likes of New Zealand and Australia. Only onwards and upwards from here for Rashid Khan and his boys. 🌟 pic.twitter.com/L3ucXTTiIz
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 27, 2024
Afghanistan Blame ICC After ‘Uneven Contest’
After the defeat, head coach Jonathan Trott expressed his frustration with the ICC, calling the match an “uneven contest.”
“I don’t want to get myself into trouble. But I also don’t want to sound a bit like ‘sour grapes’ but that’s not the pitch that you want to have a semi-final of a World Cup on. Plain and simple. It should be a fair contest. I’m not saying it should be completely flat with no spin and seam movement, you shouldn’t have batters worrying about moving forward and having the ball fly over their head. You should be confident in getting through the line or use their skills. And T20 is all about attacking and scoring runs and taking wickets. Not looking to survive,” said Trott during the press conference.
In the post-match press conference, Trott emphasized that he didn’t want to create any controversy but felt it was necessary to point out the poor quality of the pitch prepared for such a crucial game.
“If the opposition bowled well and gets you into a position after bowling well and through skill, then it’s fine to them. Then it’s about adapting.”
“If we had bowled the way South Africa had, you could have seen a different second half,” he said during the chat with media personnel.
He expected a pitch that would offer a fair contest for both Afghanistan and South Africa but believed that the surface ended up favoring the opponents.
Trott also mentioned the demanding schedule Afghanistan faced during the tournament. However, he clarified that he did not blame the schedule for his team’s disappointing performance in the semi-final.
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