Asia Cup 2025: 'Very disappointing loss' - Afghanistan head coach laments 'too many basic errors' against Sri Lanka

Published - 19 Sept 2025, 17:15 IST | Updated - 19 Sept 2025, 17:19 IST

Afghanistan's head coach Jonathan Trott expressed disappointment over basic mistakes during Afghanistan's defeat against Sri Lanka in Match 11 of Asia Cup 2025. Afghanistan lost their do-or-die encounter against the Lankans by six wickets to crash out of the continental tournament.

The former English batter credited Mohammad Nabi and the batting lineup for helping the team post a competitive total on the board. However, he was not satisfied with the outing on the field and with the ball.

“It was a very disappointing loss and a hard one to swallow. We felt we were in a good position, especially after Nabi’s heroics helped us reach 170 [169]. The batters actually played well, but we let them off with our bowling and fielding,” Trott was quoted as saying by India Today.

Trott mentioned that Afghanistan's start with the ball enabled Sri Lanka to have an upper hand in the contest. He also praised the opposition for being the second team from Group B to make it to the Super Four stage by finishing second.

"We didn’t start well in the powerplay with the ball and gave them an early advantage. Too many basic errors: whether in batting, bowling, or fielding cost us. You don’t win games at cricket, certainly in tournaments like this with those mistakes. Full credit to Bangladesh, who go through along with Sri Lanka,” he added.

Coming to how the match panned out, Afghanistan posted 169/8 at the end of 20 overs after they opted to bat first. Nabi's late blitz, in which he smacked five sixes in the 20th over, was one of the primary reasons for the Rashid Khan-led team to reach close to 170. Nabi was eventually dismissed for 60 off 22 on the final ball of Afghanistan's innings. For Sri Lanka, Nuwan Thushara starred with the ball, bagging a four-wicket haul (4/18 in four overs).

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The Lankans had a slightly better powerplay than the opposition, scoring 53/2 in the first six overs. Kusal Mendis (74* off 52) remained unbeaten till the end along with Kamindu Mendis (26* off 13) to help his side across the finish line. Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Noor Ahmad conceded an aggregate of 117 runs in the 9.4 overs.