South Africa’s Hashim Amla says his team would not take Afghanistan lightly

As the Afghan cricket team is preparing for their second major match in Super 10 of the ICC World Twenty20, the South African batsman Hashim Amla has said his would not take Afghanistan lightly, noting the opening match of the Afghan team against defending champion Sri Lanka.

The match between Afghanistan and South Africa has been scheduled for tomorrow, 20th March, and will be played in Mumbai.

Speaking at pre-match press conference, Amla said “We can’t take any team for granted. Saw the way Afghanistan played against Sri Lanka (in the first Super 10s game). We don’t take them for granted at all. We know we have to play our best cricket. The shorter the format the more chances a minnow team has of upstaging a strong team.”

Amla further added “They are a good team, have been playing some exciting cricket. We don’t take them lightly.”

The Afghan team put up a good show in their opening match in Super 10 of the World Cup by posting a competitive 154 runs target for Sri Lanka by losing 7 wickets.

However, the defending champions chased the given target in 18.5 overs as it was expected the Afghan team would bring some pressure on the Sri Lankan batsmen.

Tomorrow’s match has been described as a must-win match for the South African team who were defeated by England despite setting a huge 230-run target.

Meanwhile, the Afghan captain Asghar Stanikzai, said he expects his bowlers to do well against South Africa, emphasizing “We have very good spin attack, Rashid (Khan), Nabi (Mohammad), he is a good off breaker, Hamza (Hotak), the left arm spinner. Throughout the tournament they have bowled very well, so our strength is spin bowling as well. We saw Mumbai wicket is always famous for big score and big target,” Stanikzai told reporters. -KP