Afghanistan's heroic run in the T20 World Cup 2024 came to an end at the penultimate hurdle, as the Rashid Khan-led side suffered a lopsided 9-wicket defeat against South Africa in Trinidad. Opting to bat first, Afghanistan could only put 56 runs on the board, their lowest in T20 internationals and also the lowest in the history of T20 World Cups. After Afghanistan's journey in the competition came to an end on Wednesday, head coach Jonathan Trott fumed at ICC, saying it wasn't even an "even contest".
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Speaking to media at the press conference after game, Trott said that though he doesn't want to get himself into any trouble, he does want to highlight the poor nature of the pitch that was prepared for a clash as big as a World Cup semi-final.
"I don't want to get myself into trouble. But I also don't want to sound a bit like 'sour grapes' but that's not the pitch that you want to have a semi-final of a World Cup on. Plain and simple. It should be a fair contest. I'm not saying it should be completely flat with no spin and seam movement, you shouldn't have batters worrying about moving forward and having the ball fly over their head. You should be confident in getting through the line or use their skills. And T20 is all about attacking and scoring runs and taking wickets. Not looking to survive," said Trott during the press conference.
Trott wanted the pitch to offer something to both his side and South Africa. However, he feels his team was undone by a surface that favoured the opponent team more.
"If the opposition bowled well and gets you into a position after bowling well and through skill, then it's fine to them. Then it's about adapting."
"If we had bowled the way South Africa had, you could have seen a different second half," he said during the chat with media personnel.
Jonathan Trott on Afghanistan's Schedule
Trott also spoke about the hectic schedule that the Afghanistan team was exposed to. But, he didn't point finger at the schedule as the reason behind his team's embarrassing defeat in the semi-final.
"We only got back to hotel at three o'clock and then we had to leave at eight o'clock -- five hours later so we didn't get much sleep so the guys obviously were very tired and a lot to process really emotionally physically. So all new territory for the guys," Trott said Having said that, Trott conceded they were outplayed by a strong South African unit.
"But we knew the schedule, so that's not an excuse as such. When you go in World Cups or tournaments, you can't have everything your own way, and you've got to fight and play against the odds which you've done at times and very proud of that. But it's no, it's not the reason why we didn't win today." "South Africa bowled well, used the conditions, and showed our boys what it's capable of. But it just didn't go our way tonight." The 43-year-old hoped that the semifinal loss serves as a learning for the team that has improved leaps and bounds in the last five years.
"...we've obviously got one better than the previous (ODI) World Cup in November and it's just about taking it step by step and hopefully we learn from today, the batters certainly.
"What it takes to play international cricket and play against a bowling side like South Africa on a pitch that's perhaps not conducive to high scoring runs and finding ways of winning games...we just couldn't find a way today." Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (0) and Ibrahim Zadran (2), who were Afghanistan's top run-getters in the tournament, both failed, putting pressure on the middle order that hadn't fired at all in the tournament.
"Nobody else has got runs. We need to find a reason for that," Trott said.
Despite the defeat to South Africa, Afghanistan can keep their heads high, having made a mark in the tournament and elevating their status as an elite team.