Asia Cup 2023: Afghanistan’s Head Coach Jonathan Trott Unaware of Qualification Scenario vs Sri Lanka
Afghanistan missed out on a place in the Super Fours of Asia Cup 2023 due to a big blunder.
Afghanistan potentially missed out on a place in the Super Fours of Asia Cup 2023 due to a blunder in understanding the qualification scenario in a thrilling run-chase against Sri Lanka in Lahore on Tuesday, September 5.
Afghanistan, propelled by Mohammad Nabi’s spectacular half-century, came agonisingly close to an extraordinary chase of 292 against Sri Lanka but ultimately fell short by a mere 3 runs, getting bowled out for 289 in 37.4 overs.
Here it is worth mentioning that the initial message conveyed by the broadcasters stated that Afghanistan had to chase 292 runs within 37.1 overs to advance to the next phase of the continental tournament.
Later, when Dunith Wellalage got Mujeeb Ur Rahman out on the first ball of the 38th over, the Afghanistan team felt like their hopes went down the drain and there are no chances left for them to qualify for the Super Fours.
But the twist in the tale was that they still had a chance as all it took was three big hits in the next three deliveries to see them through.
With the scoreboard showing 289 runs, the 11th batter, Fazalhaq Farooqi, baffled both commentators and the thousands of spectators as he went on to defend the next two deliveries, which could have made the difference had he tried hitting it.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s head coach, Jonathan Trott, has revealed during the post-match press conference that his team was unaware of the possibility of chasing beyond 37.1 overs. They were only aware of the target within that timeframe and were not informed about attempting 295 or 297 runs in 37.3 or 37.5 overs.
Sri Lanka qualified for the Super Four after the win along with Bangladesh from Group B.
