"Such losses sometimes hurt and sting": Afghanistan coach Trott on double Super Over thriller against SA

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], February 11 (ANI): Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott lauded his team's resilience after the side suffered another heartbreaking defeat in an ICC Men's T20 World Cup encounter against South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
During the post-match press conference, Trott reflected on Afghanistan playing a second double Super Over in two years.
"Not really. It was a good game of cricket, obviously. It showed the type of cricket we can play, certainly chasing," Trott said, reflecting on the match against South Africa, as quoted by ICC.
"To get so close in the first Super Over, the game ebbed and flowed, and there were maybe a few mistakes from both sides towards the end, which let the other side back in when you should try to close it out. That was fairly obvious," the Afghanistan coach added.
Trott emphasised the competitiveness of both sides in high-pressure situations. "South Africa is a good side, but we've got some good players as well. When we went into the second Super Over and were 0 for one of two balls, we still got close. It just shows what we have on the side. We've got amazing players, and it's really devastating for the guys after tough losses a few days ago against New Zealand and now against South Africa in a tough group."
Trott also praised his players' character and determination, highlighting the importance of learning from the heartbreaking defeat. "These guys are never shy of rising up against challenges they face throughout their lives, on and off the field. Today, they should be very proud. These types of losses sometimes hurt and sting, but it's important to look at the areas we did well in, as well as areas we could improve."
He noted that South Africa's fielding made a decisive impact. "South Africa fielded pretty well -- the run-out, a few catches on the boundary, on the ring, those sorts of things. They fielded really well. Maybe that was the difference today a little bit," Trott added.
In match 13 of the ongoing ICC tournament, South Africa defeated Afghanistan in a second Super Over thriller.
After the match tied with the score of 187 runs from both sides, Azmatullah Omarzai and Rahmatullah Gurbaz came to bat for Afghanistan as they managed to extract 17 runs in the first Super Over against the bowling of Lungi Ngidi.
Fazalhaq Farooqi came to bowl for Afghanistan while defending 17 runs in the Super Over. He bowled well and got the wicket of Dewald Brevis, but Tristan Stubbs hit two boundaries, including a six on the last delivery, to force another Super Over.
Stubbs and Miller batted for South Africa again, and Afghanistan gave the ball to Omarzai. Stubbs welcomed him with a six. Miller hit a couple more sixes to end the over with 23 runs.
Mohammad Nabi came to bat with Omarzai while chasing a challenging target of 24 runs. South Africa introduced spin in the Super Over and gave the ball to Keshav Maharaj. He started with a dot ball, then got the wicket of Nabi.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz came to bat after that and hit back to back three sixes. With one more six needed on the final delivery, Gurbaz holed out at the point as Afghanistan lost the well-fought match. (ANI)