Asia Cup: Captain Shahidi proud of gallant Afghanistan despite devastating two-run loss

Afghanistan`s captain Hashmatullah Shahidi walks back to the pavilion after his dismissal during the Asia Cup 2023 one-day international (ODI) cricket match between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Pic/AFP

Disappointed Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said he was proud of the efforts of his players, despite the fact they fell agonisingly short of earning a place at the Super Four stage of the ongoing Asia Cup tournament. Afghanistan was handed a heartbreaking two-run loss at the hands of Sri Lanka that knocked them out of the event on Tuesday.

Due to their inferior run rate, Afghanistan needed to chase down a 292-run target set by Sri Lanka in 37.1 overs to qualify for Super4s. Veteran Mohammad Nabi (65 off 32 balls) put them on the cusp of a famous win by smashing the fastest half-century by an Afghanistan batter in ODIs. Eventually, Afghanistan fell agonisingly short by two runs as they were bowled out for 289 in 37.4 overs.

"Very disappointed about it. We fought well, we gave our 100 per cent. Proud of the team for they way we played, the way we batted. I think in the last couple of years we played good cricket in the ODI format also," Shahidi said. "We are still learning a lot. We had a lot of positives in this tournament. We are very near to the World Cup, what we did wrong here we will learn and be better for World Cup. Our crowd is always supporting us. We are thankful to them.

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"We tried tour best to give something back to them today, we feel sorry for them," he added. Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka was relieved that they somehow found a way to win. "It's a tough one, very hard to defend such a total. Nabi played an outstanding innings which almost took away the game from us. We found a way to win," he said.

(With PTI inputs)