Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott credited New Zealand for its “clinical performance” that put it on top of the table here on Wednesday.
“I think New Zealand played well, but got into a difficult position after we took quick wickets. However, we couldn’t put pressure on them for long enough. We dropped (Tom) Latham twice but credit to them for the way they played and steadied the ship... they steered the team to a defendable total,” said Trott.
Azmatullah Omarzai provided the silver lining for Afghanistan on the day. The 23-year-old all-rounder picked up two wickets in one over before battling with the bat in what proved a losing cause.
“I see him with a very bright future with both bat and ball. His batting, at the moment, is developing really well. I have always rated him as a bowler and his bowling has improved leaps and bounds.
“I wanted him to bat a little longer in this match and get a few more runs, but unfortunately he couldn’t quite get it right,” said Trott.
“It certainly wasn’t a 130 pitch. Yes, it did spin a little more towards the end but I feel that the seamers did all the damage. We were 28 for two after the first PowerPlay, and when you are chasing 280, it will put a lot of pressure on the players down the order,” said Trott about the team’s batting effort.
Mitchell Santner, who took three wickets against Afghanistan, became the second Kiwi spinner after Daniel Vettori to take 100 ODI scalps.
“It’s nice to get to that milestone. I wasn’t thinking about it too much leading into the game. I was just trying to perform my role and do a job out there just like every other game,” said the 31-year-old.
Santner also felt that the pitch aided the spinners during the second innings.
“It played a bit different from the one against Bangladesh. That one had more pace and bounce than this one. This looked a bit drier and it was nice to see it spin a little more than in the first innings in the afternoon,” he said.
