Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott expressed his unwavering belief in his team's ability to bounce back from Tuesday's three-wicket defeat to Australia in Mumbai and secure a semi-final berth at the ongoing World Cup.
Despite having Australia on the ropes at 91-7 while chasing a target of 292, Afghanistan were ultimately undone by Glenn Maxwell's unbeaten 201, which propelled the five-time champions into the last four.
Trott, however, remains optimistic about Afghanistan's chances of reaching the knockout stages, pointing to their impressive record of recovering from setbacks throughout the tournament.
"We lost the New Zealand game pretty heavily and came back and won the next game," Trott stated in a post-match press conference. "We lost the India game very heavily. Came back and beat England. There is evidence of us coming back."
He acknowledged the disappointment of the Australia loss but emphasized the team's determination to move forward and focus on their remaining matches. "But yeah, it's a bitter pill to swallow. It would really be nice just sitting here with 10 points. But hopefully that's after the South Africa game."
Afghanistan's campaign has been marked by resilience, having won four of their eight matches in India, a significant improvement from their previous World Cup performances.
While Maxwell's innings proved decisive, Trott acknowledged the Australian all-rounder's exceptional performance while also expressing regret over missed opportunities to dismiss him earlier.
"He was hitting all. Guys were changing pace, he was hitting that. Spinners were bowling different lengths, he was hitting that," Trott observed of Maxwell. "Sometimes you've got to take a cap off to a person the way that he played, but he shouldn't have been allowed to play like that. We should have had him out earlier."
With South Africa up next on Friday, Afghanistan will need to regroup and channel their fighting spirit to secure a victory that could potentially catapult them into the semi-finals.
