“Only guy who put us in the semifinal was Brian Lara” – Rashid Khan as Afghanistan beat Bangladesh to reach 2024 T20 World Cup semifinals
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan credited former West Indies captain Brian Lara for picking his team in the latter's semifinal picks for the 2024 T20 World Cup. Rashid was grateful that Afghanistan proved it true by winning consecutive games against Australia and Bangladesh in Super-8 matches to make it to the top four.
The reaction came as Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by eight runs via the DLS method to knock out Australia and Bangladesh from the T20 tournament. The leg-spinner finished with figures of 4/23 as they defended 114 in 19 overs against Bangladesh.
Rashid said the 84-run win over New Zealand in the group stage gave them the self-belief to deliver against big teams.
He said in his post-match comments:
“The only guy who put us in the semifinal was Brian Lara and we proved it right. I told him we won't let you down.”
“It's something like a dream for us as a team being in the semifinal. It's all about the way we have started the tournament. The belief came while we beat NZ. I don't have any words to describe the feeling,” he added.
Lara had picked West Indies, India, England, and Afghanistan among his semifinal picks for T20 World Cup.
“We were 15-20 runs short” – Rashid Khan shared gameplan to overcome Bangladesh despite falling behind par score in T20 World Cup clash
Rashid Khan pointed out Bangladesh’s plan to go hard at bowlers and chase the target in 12.1 overs for qualification played in Afghanistan’s favor.
“We thought 130-135 was a good total on this wicket. We were 15-20 runs short. It was all about mindset. We knew they would come hard at us to chase that in 12 overs. That's where we could take advantage, We just had to be clear with our plans," he said.
"We put in the effort, that's in our hands. Everyone did a wonderful job. In T20s, we have a strong base, especially in bowling. The quality of fast bowling we have, they are skillful," Rashid stated.
He continued:
“We had to take 10 wickets, that's the only way to get to the semifinal, there's no other way. The country will be very proud back home. Being in the semis is big now, we have to go with a clear mind. We'll have to keep things simple and make sure we enjoy the big occasion.”
Afghanistan will take on South Africa in the first semifinal in Trinidad on June 27 (6 am IST).
Click here for the AFG vs BAN 2024 T20 World Cup scorecard.