One good game can turn things around for us, says Afghan skipper Gulbadin Naib

 

TAUNTON: Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib feels his team isn’t demoralized and says that one good game can turn around things for them, despite sitting at the bottom of the table in World Cup.

Afghanistan lost to New Zealand by seven wickets in Taunton on Saturday, the team’s third consecutive defeat in the World Cup.

“We lost three games. But the morale is still high of the boys. We need a good match— one good match, to change things for us,” Naib said.

Speaking about the game against the Kiwis, Naib said after a good start with the bat, his team should survive for 50 overs.

Afghanistan were all out in 41.1 overs with only 172 runs on board. New Zealand chased the target comfortably for the loss of three wickets in 33rd over.

“Obviously we played some bad shots. In this type of cricket, you need to play complete 50 overs. Maybe playing the complete quota of overs would have helped us post a decent total,” he said.

In the two games in which Afghanistan have batted first in the tournament, they have been bowled out in 38.2 and 41.1 overs, while they also failed to chase down 187 in another.

“The most important thing on the batting side is playing your 50 overs and putting a good total on the board,” he added