Afghanistan head coach Jonathan 'Trott in a knot'

Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan wears a dejected look after their loss to Sri Lanka at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Tuesday. Pic/AFP

Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott lashed out at the match referee after his side suffered a defeat against Sri Lanka in a must-win match of the Asia Cup here on Wednesday. In the Asia Cup last group match, Afghanistan needed to chase down the given target by the Lankans in 37.1 overs to qualify for the Super 4 stage.

Sri Lanka batted first and put up a big target of 292 runs on the board. Chasing the target, Afghanistan batted their hearts out as all-rounder Mohammad Nabi scored the fastest ODI half-century for Afghanistan in a mere 24 deliveries.

However, Afghanistan found themselves at 289-8 at the end of the 37th over, needing 3 runs in a delivery in which Mujeeb Ur Rahman got out, and the equation changed to 293 in 37.2 overs. Rashid Khan, standing on the non-striker's end, seemed to be unaware of that, should they reach 297, Afghanistan had until 38.1 to complete the task.

Jonathan Trott

So they might have passed Sri Lanka on Net Run Rate (NRR) by reaching 293 after 37.2 overs, 294 after 37.3, 295 after 37.5, 296 after 38 overs, or 297 after 38.1. Trott admitted straight away that they were not aware or told by any of the match officials about the situation.

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"We were never communicated those calculations," Trott told reporters after the match. "All we were communicated was we needed to win in 37.1 overs. We weren't told what the overs in which we could get 295 or 297. (That we could win even after) 38.1 overs was never communicated to us.

"I don't think there's one reason we lost the game. There are areas of the game we could have done better and that goes for today's game and the one against Bangladesh. We got some things horribly wrong in a few areas and it's cost us. It'd be nice if we'd bowled them out a bit cheaper. But it wasn't to be," Trott added.

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