Afghanistan star Rashid Khan might have picked up only one wicket in his 10 overs spell but he had a major contribution in a seven-wicket against Sri Lanka way before the match in Pune on Monday. The ace spinner before playing his 100th ODI match had the pep talk in the huddle to motivate his mates before taking on the 1996 World Cup winner at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
Afghanistan are having the best-ever World Cup campaign in their third appearance in the marquee event. Afghans defeated defending champions England and Pakistan before outclassing Sri Lanka to register their third win in the World Cup.
In his speech, Rashid advised Afghanistan players to put their all on each ball in batting, fielding or bowling as minute details lead up to big wins.
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"Remember these three things. Firstly, every ball we fight, if it's our batting, if it's our bowling or if it's our fielding. Our only focus should be to fight it out with the other team. Don't think about the outcome or whether we will win or not focus on the finer details instead and these finer details will paint the bigger picture. Fight for every ball," Rashid Khan said in a video posted on ICC's official Instagram handle.
Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and opted to field. Fazalhaq Farooqi's four-wicket haul while Mujeeb Ur Rahman picked two scalps to bundle out Sri Lanka for 241/10 in 49.3 overs.
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Talking about his role in the match, Rashid further had his plans ready for every possible situation that could come up in a match.
"Even if I come out to bowl later on no matter how wet the ball is I will put in my 100% effort for the team because if I think that the ball is too wet. I won't be able to bowl well and automatically, I will concede runs because mentally, I would probably give up. So whether we ball first or second in every moment we will trust ourselves and will put in 100% effort. Thousands pray for us and watch our matches only to see Afghanistan win and triumph because cricket is the only thing that brings joy and happiness in Afghanistan" the Afghan star added.
Rashid elaborated that efforts count more than results and urged his teammates to put their best foot forward on the ground.
"So as a team we shouldn't take the pressure, we only focus on the effort. Everyone wants to see that effort not just the result but a real honest effort. So as a team, we will get in and put in the effort and we also make sure of the biggest thing that we keep smiling Go on boys," Rashid concluded.
Batting first, knocks from Pathum Nissanka (46 in 60 balls, with five fours), Kusal Mendis (39 in 50 balls, with three fours) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (36 in 40 balls, with three fours) steered Sri Lanka to a respectable total despite losing wickets at regular intervals.
Chasing a below-par total of 242, half-centuries from Azmatullah Omarzai (73* in 63 balls, with six fours and three sixes), Rahmat Shah (62 in 74 balls, with seven fours) and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (58* in 74 balls, with two fours and a six) helped Afghanistan seal a win.
Following the win against Sri Lanka, Afghanistan stand at fifth place with six points after winning three out of their six games. They are still in contention for the semifinal race with three games left in the tournament.
(With ANI inputs)