Bangladesh inflicted a crushing defeat on Afghanistan in Match 3 of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, on Sunday. Bangladesh batted first and put on a mammoth total of 334, to which Afghanistan fell short by a big margin of 89 runs.
Afghan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi shared his thoughts in the post-match presentationand mentioned that he thought that they could win the game, but losing wickets at regular intervals became one of the key reasons behind their defeat.
“I thought the target could be chased. The outfield was quick, and the target could’ve been chased down, but we lost wickets. Their bowlers were good in the beginning, and our run rate was really low; that’s why we couldn’t win,” he said.
Shahidi further mentioned that their team needs to work in every aspect of the game.
‘We need to improve in all the departments’
“We need to improve in all the departments. Today, our bowling was not good enough, and neither was our fielding. Lahore is near our country, so the fans were waiting for this game. Hopefully, they will come and support us again in the next game,” he further added.
Speaking of the game, Bangladesh’s tremendous batting bamboozled the Afghan bowling attack. Mehidy Hasan Miraz (112) and Najmul Hossain Shanto (104) played tremendous knocks and helped their side put a vast total on the board. Chasing a big total, Afghanistan batters were not able to spark any charm and eventually got bundled up on 245. However, Ibrahim Zardan (75) and skipper Shahidi (51) tried to put on some fight, but still it was not enough to lead their side to victory.
Afghanistan will face Sri Lanka in their second game of the tournament at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Tuesday. A loss in this game will ultimately diminish their chance to find a spot in the Top 4.
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