Match 13 of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup was held between contenders England and Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on October 15. 2019 World Cup winners England were left startled after they got defeated by Afghanistan, whose losing streak is the maximum with three losses, unfortunately. This came as a surprise to everyone, as no one expected that Afghanistan could win the match against a team like England. England opener Jonny Bairstow spoke at length about the team’s defeat against the Afghans. Here’s what the 36-year-old batsman has to say about it.Â
Complete faith in the side: Bairstow
Opener Jonny Bairstow stated that despite a stunning loss, he has complete confidence in the players, and he is convinced that England features top-class players who can certainly make a difference in the time to come. Bairstow also asserted that Afghanistan should not be taken lightly owing to their fine numbers in the IPL. Winning against England was rather a historic win for the Afghans, as the two star bowlers, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman, took two wickets each to dismantle England’s batting line-up.
Speaking of England’s two World Cup wins, Bairstow said, “There’s a reason why the guys won the T20 World Cup last year; there’s a reason why the guys won the 2019 World Cup, and we are the defending champions. Just because we’ve lost a game to Afghanistan doesn’t make us hard cricketers or anything like that. You look at Farooqi and his record in the IPL; you look at the three spinners that they’ve got and their records. Just because they play for Afghanistan, they are not slouches. They have actually got some of the world’s best in there, and they have got match winners.”
Afghanistan’s dominant play
The Englishmen faced themselves under high pressure when Rahmanullah Gurbaz smashed 80 runs off 57 deliveries. Gurbaz effectively contributed to Afghanistan’s 284-run chase, with Afghanistan dismissing all the batsmen for 215. Ibrahim Alikhil also scored a half-century and proved an upper hand to the team.
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