AUS vs AFG, T20 World Cup: We have put ourselves in this position, hope it doesn’t cost us – Matthew Wade

Australia’s stand-in captain Matthew Wade addressed the concerns of the slow start at the T20 World Cup impact on their semifinal chances which are dependent on the outcome of the  England vs Sri Lanka match on Saturday.

Australia on Friday registered a narrow four-run win over Afghanistan in their last Super 12 match and kept their campaign in the mega event alive. 

England, who are currently placed at the third spot, will face Sri Lanka and with a win, they can seal a semifinal spot. Australia will qualify for the semifinals only if Sri Lanka emerge victorious against England.

“We will stay here tonight and watch the game tomorrow, we will be hoping for an upset. We put ourselves in this position from the get-go, we have been slow in this tournament and hopefully it doesn’t cost us,” Wade said.

Australia survived a mighty scare after Rashid Khan conjured up hopes of an upset with a sensational 23-ball 48.

“We gave Stoinis the last over, to have an all-rounder to bowl the last over is pretty nerve-wracking. I played him in IPL and I have seen him do it for 3-4 times. But never felt entirely sure at any point,” Wade said.

Chasing 169 to win, Afghanistan slipped from 99/2 to 99/5 in 13.4 overs.

Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi blamed the loss of key wickets in the middle overs for the defeat.

“Really good game of cricket, they started really well, at the end Farooqi bowled well. The way we started in the powerplay and in the middle, but we throw away that four wickets in the middle under pressure,” he said.

“It’s really tough to play a game and then don’t play for 10 days. We did not get any momentum at all through this tournament. Day by day we improve and today was a fantastic game for us.”

(Inputs from PTI)

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