New Delhi, February 16 UAE captain Muhammad Waseem believes his team was 15-20 runs short of a competitive total against Afghanistan and conceded that giving away a few extra boundaries with the ball proved costly in their five-wicket defeat in the T20 World Cup here on Monday.
UAE posted 160 for nine, thanks to Sohaib Khan's second consecutive half-century, but Afghanistan chased down the target in 19.2 overs.
"I think we were 2 points short, one as a batting team and one as a bowling team. But I think Alishan got out at the wrong time. It was Mujeeb's last over, and he came to bowl for a wicket. I think if we hadn't lost that wicket, we would have scored 10-15 more runs.
"And after that, as a bowling team, I think we gave away 2-3 extra boundaries. Those boundaries cost us the game."
Waseem said the dismissal of Alishan Sharafu in the 12th over disrupted their momentum.
"If Ali Shahan hadn't been out, he would have played 4-5 more overs. Our tail-enders have batted the last 4 overs. If there had been a batsman there, I think there would have been 15-20 more runs that could have helped the team to win this match."
Sohaib struck 68 off 48 balls to anchor the innings, his second fifty of the tournament.
"To be honest, he is a very good player. I am very happy when he performs like he did in the last match, with Aryansh. And reaching 50 in the World Cup is a very big achievement for him. I am very happy for him the way he performs, and I hope he performs well in the next match," Waseem said.
"He is a very good player. You know that the better the player is, the faster he adapts to the new environment. The number 4 player was not in the playing 11 today, we spoke to him about that. He was confident about that, and you also saw the way he batted. He is new, but I think he will learn a lot. And the way he is playing, he will go far – I hope."
Echoing Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan's call for more opportunities for smaller teams, Waseem said associate nations benefit from regular fixtures against stronger sides.
"The more we play cricket with the test nations, you have seen that the associate countries are performing. They are having good matches. Because of good matches, the boys are learning a lot from them.
"They are confident to perform well. Our team has played series against Pakistan, New Zealand, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The boys have gained a lot of confidence from those series.
"So I think the ICC should have a few series with the associate countries and the test nation teams, which gives the boys confidence and allows them to learn good cricket."
