Gulbadin Naib lauded Mohammad Nabi, who almost got Afghanistan to the brink of a famous victory over India in the World Cup game at the Hampshire Bowl on Saturday.
Nabi may have failed to cross the finish line but his skipper backed his stupendous effort. “Nabi played really well but (Jasprit) Bumrah, the number one bowler, and (Mohammed) Shami bowled well. Nabi had a problem in his left leg but he did his job and that wasn't enough. Credit to the Indian team and we struggled against short of length balls,” Naib told the media.
READ: Shami hat-trick seals thrilling win over Afghanistan
However, Naib felt that the thriller against India and even the one-sided game involving England, would breed some confidence within his men: “Yes, we will take some confidence. We are getting better day by day. Against England and India, the two favourites, we had our moments.”
Naib stressed that the partnership between M.S. Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav was crucial: “Dhoni is a very experienced player, a legend. He and Jadhav had a good partnership and they took the game away from us. At one point we thought they will score 170 or 180.”
Asked about the emotions surging through him, Naib paused a bit, there was a wistful look in his eyes and then he smiled and said: “At one time we thought we could win and we got emotional. India is my favourite team, (Virat) Kohli is my favourite player and we missed a chance to beat them.”
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