Afghanistan’s cricket team head coach, Jonathan Trott, gave credit to their openers, Ibrahim Zardan and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, for his side’s historic win over Pakistan in the ICC World Cup 2023 at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, India, on Monday.
Trott, who represented England in 127 international matches, reckoned that the opening partnership between Gurbaz and Zardan was the turning point in Afghanistan’s historic run-chase.
“The turning point for me was the start that Ibrahim and Gurbaz gave us — I think that’s always good when you're chasing a total like that, you need a good start, there's less pressure on the players coming in. And it makes their job easier,” Trott was quoted as saying in the post-match press conference.
Gurbaz and Zardan put up a crucial 130-run partnership with six runs per over run rate and the batters scored 65 and 87 respectively, proving their worth in an important World Cup match.
Apart from those two, Rahmat Shah showed great temperament and didn’t lose his nerves for once while chasing as he played a calm and composed knock of 77 runs off 84 deliveries. Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s skipper, Hashmatullah Shahidi, missed his half-century by just two runs as the target was already chased by then.
“So, those two batsmen I think are outstanding and I'm very happy for everyone getting into the tournament now and we, showing he doesn't have to show but showing everybody, in the world stage what a good player he is and, you know, very excited about the way that he played and Gurbaz as well that partnership they had but also the way that Rahmat Shah played, very happy for him.
“Again, showing everybody how he can play, but also the captain coming in and scoring it better than a runner ball to finish off the game. And it's always a nice feeling as a captain to get the winning run,” he added.
