Afghanistan’s charge towards a second successive T20 World Cup Super 8 qualification ending in nerve-wracking agony at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad last week, in a match of unending drama culminating with a double Super Over defeat against South Africa. With an uphill task slotted in a Group D pool alongside New Zealand and South Africa, the 2024 semi-finalists’ dream all but ended with two defeats that could have seemingly been avoided if not for tactical blunders at crucial points. However, a tied finish and a double Super Over exercise had taken a toll on the squad, but captain Rashid Khan had the perfect solution to bolster his teammates. “We were in Ahmedabad and we told the manager to order food. Peshawari food: their dal bukhara, dal makhani, I told him to order that and bring some tandoori chicken so that we can vent our anger on that,” Rashid said in Delhi on Sunday ahead of Afghanistan’s third match against UAE at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. MUST READ | South Africa’s Double Super Over win against Afghanistan: A game of mistakes that became an all-time classic Rashid said that gorging on the lip-smacking spread was also intended to not point fingers at anybody in the team after the lost opportunity for two vital points. “No one should say that he did this or he did that because it brings negativity in the team,” he said. “No one has lost, just our team has lost. We put in a lot of effort, but we never blame any player for being in a Super Over. I always tell everyone that as a captain I don’t want to hear any of these things. It disappoints me more than the game when you’re blaming the players. We all put in the effort.” Memories of Australia WC ’23 Rashid also said that the defeat to South Africa brought back dark memories of another missed opportunity during the 2023 ODI World Cup where Afghanistan had Australia on the mat before Glenn Maxwell’s epic double century in a 292-run chase made for a grand spectacle in Mumbai.Story continues below this ad “To be honest, it’s pretty hard. It’s very, very hard to lose that game where we had it in our hand a couple of times and then it just slips off your hand and it disappoints you. It doesn’t go away from your mind. Like, the game we played against Australia in the 2023 World Cup at Wankhede, it never goes out of the mind, until we won against them in the 2024 World Cup. And then slowly it got out of the mind,” Rashid added.
‘Bring some tandoori chicken’: After double Super Over loss, Afghanistan players ‘vented anger’ gorging Peshawari food, says Rashid Khan
