Dinesh Karthik said that Afghanistan’s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Monday, October 30 should not be called an upset. The veteran Indian wicketkeeper said that the Afghans were in a commanding position right from the outset at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune.
After opting to field first, the Afghans restricted their opponents to 241 in 49.3 overs. Fazalhaq Farooqi, who replaced Noor Ahmad in the playing XI, picked up four crucial wickets of Dimuth Karunaratne, Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews and Maheesh Theekshana.
The Afghans chased down the target with 28 balls left after half-centuries from Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai.
“We should not call it an upset. We felt from the start that they made the right decisions. They have beaten two good teams, those could be called upsets. Rather, Afghanistan would fancy themselves against Sri Lanka, having run them close a few times. In the Asia Cup, we saw they almost got through that game, but that did not happen,” Karthik was quoted as saying.
Karthik also lauded Afghanistan for showing a great amount of composure in their run-chases in the ongoing mega event on Indian soil. Prior to their clinical showing against Sri Lanka, Afghanistan beat Pakistan by eight wickets after chasing down 283.
“About today, it was the Afghanistan team that we know. In T20 cricket, they produce brilliant results, great players, who come out and do what they are required to. But the way they have chased in the last two matches was quite amazing to watch,” he added.
Placed fifth in the table, the Afghans have given themselves a realistic chance of advancing to the semis. Their next match is against the Netherlands on Friday at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.
