NEW DELHI: Ahead of the World Cup match against Sri Lanka at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, Afghanistan's captain Hashmatullah Shahidi expressed confidence in his team's performance. Shahidi mentioned during the pre-match press conference that the team is in good spirits and feeling content with their current form.
He highlighted the positive progress they've made in the tournament so far and conveyed the team's enthusiasm for the upcoming matches. Shahidi's statement reflects the team's optimistic outlook and their readiness to tackle the challenges in the forthcoming games.
"The team is doing good and we are all happy. I can say that we had a good tournament so far and looking forward to the other games also. It will be the best ever tournament for us in World Cup history," Shahidi said.
While talking about the 6-day break after beating Pakistan, the Afghanistan skipper said that this break was good for the team since many players were tired after playing back-to-back games.
"I think this break is good for us because we had back-to-back games before that and when you play too many games in a short time, the players get tired. So that was good - after a good win when you are resting and think about other games also that give you time and also give rest for the bodies and I can say that was good for us," he added.
Shahidi said that their main goal is to move to the next round and take one game at a time.
"The table is like - we are thinking about the games one by one. We have a game against Sri Lanka tomorrow, so we are thinking of that now. And our aim and goal is to achieve and to go to the next round. That's what we are thinking about. But from now on, we are not thinking - like from tomorrow's game, how to go to the semi-final. We think match by match and our mindset is busy with tomorrow's Sri Lankan game right now. So, let's see what happens tomorrow. Then we will think about other games and moving forward to the semi-final," he added.
"See it's like sometimes when we have back-to-back wickets, so definitely put pressure when I am playing or another guy in the middle order is playing. So, when our team gives us good momentum, we try to take that momentum, move forward and think about that. So, we will see how the situation is in the future games. Like, we want to play accordingly. Like, if it's early wickets, we have to carry on with how to play all 50 overs. If it's good momentum, we will try to maintain that and try to play with a good strike rate," he added.
Afghanistan are coming into this game after sealing a historic eight-wicket win against Pakistan on October 23 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
(With ANI inputs)
