Afghanistan cricket team captain Hashmatullah Shahidi lauded Ikram Alikhil's contribution following their impressive victory over England in the ongoing ODI Cricket World Cup. Shahidi was ecstatic after the win and expressed his delight and hunger for more success after leading his team to a historic win at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium.
The minnows Afghanistan secured a remarkable 69-run win over England, the defending champions in the first major upset of the 2023 World Cup. Shahidi praised the opening batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ikram Alikhil, who scored a crucial 66-ball 58, for laying a strong foundation for the win.
"I'm quite happy, all the teammates are happy. This is the best win for us, the confidence will be there for the next game and I'm very proud. The openers get a lot of credit. They gave us a great start but unfortunately, we lost back-to-back wickets in the middle again, lot of credit to the openers though, especially Gurbaz. Ikram was with us for the last 2 years and didn't get a lot of chances, today I believed in him and gave him a chance and he repaid my faith," Hashmatullah Shahidi said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Shahidi also praised Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman's exceptional all-round performance, which played a pivotal role in their victory and highlighted the need for their batting lineup to provide more support to their spinners. He emphasized the importance of the first wicket taken by Fazal in building momentum.
"Mujeeb batted brilliantly, he led from the front and scored important runs for us. We have to score runs, our batting lineup needs to score more for our spinners. We have a lot of confidence about our spinners. Fazal started very well, the first wicket gave us a lot of momentum. When I was batting, I realized the wicket wasn't supportive for batters against spinners.
"I told the boys that 280-290 will be enough when I got back into the dressing room. I want to say that the belief, trust and talent is there. Last couple of games we didn't finish well but the belief is there. This is just the first win, we are looking for more in the tournament. This was just the first one, not the last one," Shahidi added.
Despite acknowledging early struggles in finishing strongly in previous games, Shahidi affirmed their unwavering conviction. This significant victory is seen as the first of many achievements the team aims to accomplish during the tournament.
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