Need to carefully consider where we made mistakes: Trott

Need to carefully consider where we made mistakes: Trott

Afghanistan’s hopes of making it to the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup 2025 crashed down after a six-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi. Despite entering the tournament as one of the favourites, back-to-back losses to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka ended their campaign prematurely.

In the final Group B clash, Afghanistan posted a competitive 169/8, thanks largely to a stunning counterattack from veteran allrounder Mohammad Nabi. His 22-ball 60 rescued the team from a near-collapse and gave them a fighting chance. But Sri Lanka chased down the target with eight balls to spare, sealing their place in the Super Four alongside Bangladesh.

Head coach Jonathon Trott didn’t hold back in his post-match assessment. “It was very disappointing and a hard one to swallow,” he said. “We thought we were in a good position, believing 170 after Nabi’s heroics was a good total. However, their batters played rather well, and we sort of aided them with our bowling and fielding.”

Trott pointed to a poor start in the power play as a key turning point. “We didn’t start well with the ball, which gave them a leg up. We just weren’t at the races and made too many basic errors in batting, bowling, and in the field. You can’t win cricket games, especially in tournaments like this, with such errors.”

He also acknowledged the emotional toll of the early exit. “We came here with huge ambitions, and I was very ambitious about what we could achieve. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to do that, and we need to figure out why.”

Looking ahead, Trott emphasized the importance of learning from this setback. “We have a lot of T20 cricket coming up, including the World Cup in February. All the coaches, including myself, and all the players need to think long and hard about where we went wrong and how we need to get better. Sometimes these setbacks can help us regroup and ensure we don't make the same mistakes in the future.”

He also highlighted the absence of pace bowler Naveen-ul-Haq, who missed the tournament due to injury. “Potentially, yes, we missed the service of a pace bowler. If Naveen had been fit, it would have been a completely different kettle of fish. This is certainly something to look at, and we need to ensure we have the right stock of bowlers.”

On the winning side, Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis shared insights into how his team tackled Afghanistan’s spin-heavy bowling attack. “From the beginning, we knew they would bowl a lot of spin overs,” he said. “So, Kusal Perera and I mostly talked about batting normally for the first 12 overs.”

The strategy was to keep the scoreboard ticking without taking unnecessary risks early on. “We always went at about eight or nine runs an over. That made it very easy in the middle,” Mendis explained. “Then, after Charith came in, I said we should just look to bat normally until the 13th over because in the last few overs, they would have to bowl pace overs or something. So, we were waiting for that.”

Mendis also spoke about targeting specific overs for acceleration. “In the middle, Kamindu hit a six and I hit a four; two such overs were what I was hoping for. So, if that came, it would be easy; that’s what we discussed in the middle.”

He praised Afghanistan’s spin attack but credited Sri Lanka’s patience and planning. “Honestly, if you look at their spin attack, they have good spinners. However, we tried to stretch the game as long as possible in the middle, aiming to take it to the last over, because, as I said, they definitely have to bowl two pace overs. I was looking for a big over from the spinners there.”