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Shah says Sri Lankan demolition job shows Afghanista­n’s quality

- AMITH PASSELA

Rahmat Shah says he and his Afghanista­n teammates are not content with just reaching the Super Four stages at the Asia Cup and they want to keep their momentum going and put other sides under pressure.

Afghanista­n secured a spot in the final four, along with Bangladesh, after they defeated five-time tournament champions Sri Lanka by 91 runs in their Group B clash in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

The Afghans will now play Bangladesh tomorrow in Abu Dhabi to decide who wins the group, and Shah said there would be no let up from the side.

“We have a good team combinatio­n and as we proved we can beat Sri Lanka,” he said. “We can also win against other teams. We are not here to give a tough time to other teams but to win as well.”

The key to Afghanista­n’s success was setting an imposing total of 249 after captain Asghar Afghan had won the toss and chosen to bat.

Shah who was man of the match after he top-scored with 72, said the team’s goal had to be to make sure they batted the full 50 overs.

“I wanted to bat until 40 to 45 overs, which I did,” he said of the team plans. “It was extremely hard in the heat but I was determined to play the long innings.

“The biggest challenge for me was to deal with the hot weather out in the middle, particular­ly in the afternoon.”

Shah, who came in at No 3 in the 11th over, hitting five boundaries in his 90ball knock, which came to an end in the 41st over when he was dismissed by Dushmantha Chameera.

Sri Lanka were always on the backfoot after losing Kusal Mendis second ball to Mujeeb Ur Rahman without a run on the board, and they were all out after just 41.2 overs for 158 runs.

Angelo Mathews, Sri Lanka’s captain, blamed the batting against Afghanista­n and Bangladesh, who they lost to by 137 runs in Dubai on Saturday, for being the first side eliminated from the tournament.

“To be honest I don’t have any answers,” he said at the post-match conference. “Batting was the main reason on both occasions.

“We didn’t pass the 160mark both times but we are a much better team. This was a shocking performanc­e.

“It is embarrassi­ng for us but it’s not embarrassi­ng to lose to Afghanista­n. They are a good team.”

Mathews said 250-plus scores were gettable but their team cracked under pressure.

“We all take responsibi­lity because it was unacceptab­le. We need to find solutions. We are 10 months away from the World Cup and losing like this is extremely embarrassi­ng to me and the entire team to let the nation down.

“It’s nothing about the talent. We have proved in the last series against South Africa.

“It is just pressure handling and the situation wasn’t good on both occasions. We cracked under pressure and we admit that.

“It’s purely mental and we need to find a solution. In a couple of weeks’ we play England at home and it’s going to be a tough series once again.”

Mathews added that the challenge now for his players was to learn from their mistakes and become mentally stronger.

“The players have to learn to handle it,” he said. “It has to come naturally or you have to learn. On this occasion we were extremely poor.

“The Bangladesh­is and Afghans squeezed us and never allowed to get off hook. We must credit them. They batted well, fielded well and bowled well. They were better than us.”

To be honest, I don’t have any answers. Batting was the main reason we lost. This was a shocking performanc­e ANGELO MATHEWS

 ?? Pawan Singh / The National ?? Rahmat Shah scored 72 runs for Afghanista­n as his side defeated Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup on Monday
Pawan Singh / The National Rahmat Shah scored 72 runs for Afghanista­n as his side defeated Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup on Monday

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