Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi rued a poor batting performance after his side suffered an 8-wicket defeat at the hands of New Zealand in their final league game of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 on Sunday (November 7) at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Nabi also said Afghanistan was 30 runs short of a good target at Sheikh Zayed Stadium against New Zealand, as the massive defeat marked the end of their campaign at the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 along with India, with Pakistan and the Black Caps making it to the top four from the Group 2.
Nabi said during the post-match presentation: “It was our plan to bat first and put a decent total on the board. We didn't start well, early wickets slowed us down, we built partnerships but didn't we finish well. We were 30 runs short on this pitch. We were eyeing 145-160, that would have been a decent total. Our bowling is strong, but we didn't get a good total.”
He concluded, “The pitch wasn't helpful too. We tried our best and bowled really well in this game. We have a lot of experience playing in the UAE, we played good cricket and we take a lot of positives from this tournament. Hopefully, we work on our mistakes and do better in the upcoming matches.”
Notably, for Afghanistan, Najibullah Zadran was the top scorer with a stunning knock of 73 runs off 48 balls with Trent Boult (3/17) and Tim Southee (2/24) shined with the ball for New Zealand
For the Black Caps, Kane Williamson (40*) and Devon Conway (36*) took the side over the line with 8 wickets in a low-scoring affair in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
(With ANI Inputs)
