Reuters
[Source: Reuters]
Afghanistan lost their second successive World Cup game on Wednesday after an eight-wicket defeat by India but coach Jonathan Trott says they are making progress and have got to grips with conditions in Delhi where they play England next.
Afghanistan, who lost their tournament opener to Bangladesh in a low-scoring encounter, won the toss and batted first again, posting a total of 272-8 in 50 overs before a century from Rohit Sharma helped the hosts to a comfortable victory.
Trott said it was a brave decision to bat first but admitted they were well short on a “350-360 wicket”.
Trott said his players would have benefited from having the match at the same venue where they play defending champions England on Sunday.
Afghanistan are playing at their third World Cup and have now lost 16 of their 17 matches, their only victory coming against Scotland in 2015.
But Trott said there were encouraging signs, especially when the middle order stepped up at 63-3 with Afghan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (80) and all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai (62) sharing a 121-run stand.
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