Afghanistan participant Rahmanullah Gurbaz and coach Jonathan Trott throughout a apply session forward of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match against Pakistan in Chennai.
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam
Head coach Jonathan Trott is hopeful Afghanistan can maintain their World Cup marketing campaign alive by pulling off a win against an under-pressure Pakistan, having come agonisingly near defeating them earlier this yr.
The 42-year-old added that the passionate rivalry between the 2 groups, who’re determined to win, would make it an enthralling contest in Chennai on October 23.
“I think for them (Afghans), it’s a rivalry that excites them. It’s a rivalry that sometimes in the past has been very passionate,” Trott stated on the pre-match press convention on October 22.
“But I’m sure we’ll see an exciting game tomorrow. It’s just the nature of the rivalry. And both teams respect each other but are very desperate to win,” he added.
Pakistan had defeated Afghanistan 3-0 in a three-match ODI collection in August with Babar Azam and Co. eking out a slim one-wicket win within the second match.
“We’ve had an ODI series against them recently where we should have won a few games, (but) we didn’t. So hopefully, we can put that right tomorrow.” Afghanistan play their second sport on the Chepauk, the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led aspect fell to 149-run loss to New Zealand on the similar venue.
“The pitch I’m not sure. Chennai is normally a good wicket. So, everybody’s got to put in a good team performance if we want to beat the likes of a strong side like Pakistan.” In the sport against New Zealand, the Afghan spinners didn’t make an impression.
“With spinners, there are only two or three of them playing a game. And, it’s the other eight as well that have to play the game, so that’s important,” Trott replied to a question from PTI.
“It’s everybody’s job. It’s not just the spinners’ job to win games. There are batters who’ve got to put runs on the board or chase down a total. Yes, the spinners are important and getting our selection is key for the fixture, but it’s a team effort. There’s no reliance on just spinners.”
Afghanistan are on the backside of the factors desk, having misplaced three of the 4 fixtures they’ve performed. Their solely victory got here against defending champion England.
The sport against Pakistan is a must-win of kinds for Afghanistan in the event that they need to maintain their destiny in their very own arms. A loss may imply they should depend on beneficial outcomes to remain within the semifinal race.
“Every game is a must-win game. This is a World Cup, and every game is important. So, I don’t see the other matches just as more important as this,” stated Trott.
Pakistan is headed into the match having suffered back-to-back losses against hosts India and Australia. Trott asserted that his aspect would intention to use this case against an under-pressure Pakistani aspect.
“We always look to put up put the opposition under pressure straight away, so we’ll be looking to do that tomorrow, obviously. There’s a lot of other things that come into the game with regards to the rivalry and the history of and the passion of everything.” “We know the Pakistan team will be very determined to win tomorrow and certainly want to sort of snap that losing streak of the two games,” he signed off.
