Ahead of the upcoming 22nd ODI World Cup 2023 match between Afghanistan and Pakistan at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Monday, Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott said that every game is a must-win game for his team.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Trott said that for Afghanistan, every game in the World Cup is important.
“Every game is a must-win game. This is a World Cup, and every game is important. So, I don’t see the other matches as just as important as this. There’s a bit of rivalry as well with this game. So, I guarantee you, my side is very, very excited and looking forward to hopefully pulling away a win,” Jonathan Trott said at the pre-match press conference.
The Afghanistan head coach said that everyone needs to bowl well in the upcoming game against Pakistan. He also added that they can’t drop catches, specially when they are bowling first.
“That’s what I’m saying. So, it’s not just about the spinners. Everyone’s got a bowl. Yeah, and obviously dropped catches don’t help, especially when you win the toss and bowl first; you want to put the opposition under pressure. We had an opportunity to do that with New Zealand, and we had them. I think it was about 115 for four at one stage. You know, we let them get away. So, obviously, the things you’d like to do differently, there are things you could do better, and we’ll be looking today to do that,” he added. Trott added that they are looking at Pakistan’s previous match and are looking to put the opposition under pressure from the very first moment of the game.
“We always look to put the opposition under pressure right away, so we’ll be looking to do that tomorrow, obviously. So, I don’t think there are any thoughts with regard to their previous matches.
I think when Afghanistan plays Pakistan, you know that a lot of form doesn’t come into the game. There are a lot of other things that come into the game with regards to the rivalry, the history, and the passion for everything. So, we know the Pakistan team will be very determined to win tomorrow and certainly want to sort of snap that losing streak of the two games that you just mentioned,” he added.
