Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib reflects on missed chance: The bowlers didn't take responsibility

Hamid Hassan conceded 30 runs in his first two overs as the Sri Lankans romped to 80 without loss in the first 10 at Sophia Gardens, paving the way for what should have been a mammoth total

Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib rued his side’s erratic powerplay performance with the ball in the wake of their 34-run defeat by Sri Lanka in Cardiff.

Hamid Hassan conceded 30 runs in his first two overs as the Sri Lankans romped to 80 without loss in the first 10 at Sophia Gardens, paving the way for what should have been a mammoth total.

A middle-order collapse eventually saw that platform go to waste but Afghanistan were unable to chase down 187, adjusted from 201 via Duckworth-Lewis after a lengthy rain delay, leaving Naib to reflect on a missed opportunity to register a first win of the World Cup.

“We didn’t bowl in the right areas at the start of the innings,” he said.

^{Afghanistan lost to Sri Lanka in Cardiff}

“The bowlers didn’t take responsibility at the start of the day. Maybe we missed something.

If you compare this wicket to Bristol, it was a difficult wicket. It is totally different because it was a cloudy day and with two hours of rain.

“Especially at the start, the seamers didn’t bowl well.”

Mohammad Nabi’s four wickets were the feature of the first innings, but the seam-heavy approach from Sri Lanka ultimately won the day, as Nuwan Pradeep claimed four victims and Lasith Malinga three.

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“If you look for the total for the board, we gave 35 runs in extras,” Naib said.

“If we bowled well at the start of the day, maybe the total isn’t like that.

“We gave away a lot of extras, maybe that’s why they scored 200.

“Credit to the Sri Lanka bowlers for how well they bowled. The target was not too much - we prepared for that in the last few months - but we were missing something.”

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