Asia Cup 2018: Asghar Afghan credits team for playing positive cricket, Angelo Mathews ‘shocked’ after loss

Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews has come down heavily on his batsmen after their failure to chase down 250 against Afghanistan saw Lanka getting knocked out of the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup 2018. Afghanistan skipper Asghar Afghan said that playing to win was the secret of the team’s 91-run win on Monday.

“This was shocking from the whole team,” said Mathews after the match. “Even in the first game, we got all out for 150-odd. Congratulations to Afghanistan as they outplayed us.

“We got a good start [0/1 but then 54/1] but again lost our way in the middle overs. The bowlers did well, the fielding had also improved from the last match. It’s just the batting unit that let us down.

“We played better cricket in the later parts of the South Africa series. Just disappointing to see the way the boys went about it. We couldn’t handle pressure. Not passing 150 on both occasions is very shocking and disappointing.”

Afghan was full of praise for his team for a match-winning all-round performance in their tournament opener. “[It was a] very important game because Sri Lanka lost their first game. Credit to our batsmen, our openers, they played very well. Every batsman executed his plans,” said Afghan.

“Credit to our fielders who fielded very well. We want to win, show our abilities and talent. When you want to play to win, you play positively. Our spinners, batsmen and bowlers all did well. I would also like to say thanks to the crowd for their support.”

Interestingly, this was Afghanistan’s first win over Sri Lanka in an ODI after losing in their previous two encounters.

First Published: Sep 18, 2018 09:02 IST