By Admin 
The way the South Africa vs Afghanistan match ended on Wednesday, 11 February, is rarely seen in cricket. Had Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit another four in the second super over, the Afghan team would have created history. After the defeat in a thrilling match, captain Rashid Khan has blamed Fazalhaq Farooqui for the defeat.
In this match, South Africa, batting first, had scored 187 runs, in reply Afghanistan team could also score the same number of runs. When the first super over came, both the teams could score only 17 runs each. In such a situation, the second super over was resorted to, in which South Africa had scored 23 runs while playing first. Rahmanullah Gurbaz had hit 3 sixes in a row and Afghanistan needed one more six to win, but Gurbaz was out on the last ball.
Whom did Rashid Khan hold responsible for the defeat?
In the post match presentation, Rashid Khan said, “We got many chances, even in the last Super Over. 5 runs in one ball and the result could have gone either way. We could have worked more smartly. One dive, one ball could have ended the match. We had worked very hard for this match in the last one and a half years to enter the next round. It is disappointing.”
Rashid Khan further said, “Whenever you represent your country, it is a moment of pride. I will try to keep the morale of the players high.”
Which dive is Rashid Khan talking about?
Rashid Khan is talking about the 20th over of Afghanistan’s innings. Actually, the Afghan team had only one wicket left and only 2 runs had to be scored in the last 3 balls. Noor Ahmed hit the shot and the batsman ran for runs. One run was completed, but Fazal Haq Farooqui was run out at the non-striking end. Rashid believes that if Farooqui had dived there, Afghanistan would have won the match within 20 overs.