That is the end of our coverage of the match between Afghanistan and PNG. The Rashid Khan-led side leapt into the Super 8 stage on the back of a hat-trick of wins.
For now, it is me, AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Akshay Bhide and Ajay Pal Singh, who, alongside our scorer/analyst Bishal Mandal, brought you all the live-action of this enthralling fixture. We have plenty of games coming our way. Stay tuned to our network. We will meet again. Until then, it's cheers!
Rashid Khan (Afghanistan Captain):"Feeling great to qualify for the next round. Great effort from the boys since first game. First time Afghanistan qualified for the Super 8s.
I think it is very important to have someone like him. It is just like having someone like Gurbaz who can go in at the top and go from ball one. Same with the ball with Farooqi. It allows us a strong base a bowling unit. Even if the batter is attacking you, you have to attack as well. We are lucky to have him as he makes our job easier.
We are happy, the way both openers played in the first few games. They gave us the best starts. The middle order needs more opportunity but in T20 we rarely get that. Good that Gulbadin got some time in the middle and he made good use of it.
I think that's the beauty of playing franchise cricket all over the world. Few players in the team have played at the venue and know what to expect from the pitch. It is more about how we play, how we adjust to the condition."
Assad Vala (Papua New Guinea Captain): "I think they are a really good team. Giving them four wickets was crucial at that stage including my run out.
It's been challenging not for only us but for each team. You have to keep wickets in hand and launch in the end. We saw it in yesterday's game but they bowled beautifully in the end.
The bowling has been really good. They have bowled tight lines and kept the oppositions under pressure. The execution was very good. We created a couple of opportunities but we failed to take them. You have to grab those if you want to win games at this level.
It's a challenge. Getting that exposure of playing at high speed bowlers. In Associate teams, we don't face them. We have to make sure that we counter those."
Biggest wins for Afghanistan in T20Is (by balls
remaining): 73 vs Ireland in Dubai, 2017 59 vs Sri Lanka in Dubai, 2022 32 vs Zimbabwe in Sharjah, 2018 29 vs Papua New Guinea in Tarouba - TONIGHT 16 vs UAE in Edinburgh, 2015
Bowlers with 50 T20I wickets for Afghanistan: 142 - Rashid Khan 95 - Mohammad Nabi 59 - Mujeeb Ur Rahman 50 - Naveen-ul-Haq
All-out totals of 100 or below in single edition of Menβs
T20 World Cup: 9 - 2024 8 - 2014, 2021 4 - 2010 3 - 2007, 2009, 2012 2 - 2016 0 - 2022
Rashid is standing just beside the camera and teasing Farooqi as he is giving the interview.
Fazalhaq Farooqi (Player of the match): "I want to congratulate all people of Afghanistan as we have officially qualified for Super 8.
Before the warm-up match, I was in IPL. Unfortunately I didn't get any chance in IPL but I kept working on my fitness. I played just one warm-up game and I now know how to carry my body.
I have two plans, I try to get early wickets if there is any support. If there is no swing, I like to bowl it in the right area and keep it simple.
Yeah, we just keep it simple and give our 100 percent in the last match as well. He (Rashid Khan) is trying to make me laugh but I am not laughing (chuckles)."