We were short 20-25 runs in the end, which cost us the game: Captain Nabi

Sharjah [UAE], September 4 (ANI): Addressing a press conference after the defeat of his team against Sri Lanka on Saturday at Sharjah cited the reasons for the defeat of his team.
The Afghan captain spoke about why the team was not able to score big after the good start they got. Stating that the team could not close out as well as they would have liked.
He said, “The way we started the innings, we didn’t finish well in the end, that’s why we were short of 20-25 runs in the end.”
Speaking about the brilliant innings of Gurbaaz he said, “He batted really well, gave us morale at the start but again we tried but could not end well in the later stage of the innings.”
Speaking about what was different in this match in comparison to the matches that the team won, the all-rounder said, “The conditions are totally different in Sharjah and Dubai. Bowling and fielding were not good as in the previous match with Bangladesh. Specially bowlers didn’t bowl well. They missed and did not bowl in the right areas. Dropped catches also cost us which shifted the momentum away from us. And again the ending was not good. If we had scored the extra 25 runs, the situation would have been different.”
On being asked about the bowling in the powerplay during this match, he said, “We didn’t take wickets in the powerplay as we did in previous matches. That’s why Sri Lanka played well in the powerplay, scoring 60 in the powerplay which took the momentum away early.”
Answering if the conditions changed for bowling in the second innings, the captain mentioned about the presence of dew and humidity that made it difficult to grip the ball.
He said, “Tough to bowl at the end as dew started, humidity and sweat were there which made it difficult to grip the ball.”
Talking about the dropped chance by Karim, he said that it was crucial because two sixes were hit after the catch was dropped.
Nabi said, “Karim’s dropped catch was crucial as two sixes were hit after that.”
Talking about his learnings from this game, he said, “We learn from mistakes in this game and hopefully don’t repeat it in the next game.”
The Afghan team had started well in the game, but the death overs proved fatal for them as they lost quick wickets scoring just 37 of the final five overs.
A late blitz from left-hander Bhanuka Rajapaksa helped Sri Lanka defeat Afghanistan by four wickets in the first match of the Super Four phase of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Rajapaksa slammed swashbuckling 31 in 14 balls while Kusal Mendis played a knock of 36 runs. For Afghanistan Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Naveen-ul-Haq bagged two wickets each.
The team will now face Asian giants India and Pakistan in their remaining matches. (ANI)