Afghanistan suffered a crushing 149-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand in Match 16 of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Wednesday (October 18).
Opting to bowl first, Afghanistan had reduced New Zealand to 110/4 in the 22nd over but their below-par fielding allowed the Kiwis to post a highly competitive total of 288/6 on the board.
After the humiliating loss, Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott rued his team's fielding performance against New Zealand.
"I would say that it's not the pressure. I think it's been happening a bit too much recently as well since I've been in charge," Trott started in the post-match presser.
The Afghan fielders spilled as many as five catches at Chepauk, and the main beneficiaries were Tom Latham (68) and Glenn Phillips (71) as the reprieves helped them stitch a 144-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
"So, if you look at the statistics, unfortunately, the side is right at the bottom with regards to catching. So, that needs to improve. I think it's something we've worked really hard on in training. We just need to do it in games now," Trott added.
Nonetheless, the Afghanistan coach was effusive in praise of the Black Caps for bouncing back from a precarious situation to post a stiff total on the board.
"I think they (Latham and Phillips) played well. But credit must go to the way they held the innings together because it could have got a lot worse for them. They steadied the ship and got themselves to a defendable total," Trott said.
Afghanistan’s star spinner Rashid Khan hasn’t been bowling in the powerplay lately, and Trott said the reason was more technical than anything else.
"Well, we were just waiting until the state of the ball...when Rashid feels like he can grip it because he obviously needs to spin it both ways and when the ball is not as new and not as slippery."
However, Trott was pleased with the standard of his team’s bowling. "We were bowling well, I thought, and containing them decently. Then Azmat came on and changed the course of the game with two wickets in an over. And then, Rash (Rashid) got a wicket for himself."
Chasing the target, Afghanistan’s innings folded for 139 in 34.4 overs. It was a listless batting performance as no one managed to touch the 40-run mark.
Jonathan Trott admitted that it wasn't a low-scoring pitch despite the wicket playing slow.
"I certainly did not feel it's a 130-odd all-out pitch. Yes, it did spin a little bit more towards the end. But I still feel we were taking the spinners for nearly five, six an over.
"The seamers actually did all the damage for them (NZ), and I think we were 28 for 2 at the end of the first power play, which when you're chasing 280, is probably going to put a lot of pressure on the players down the order," he concluded.
(With PTI Inputs)
