St John’s [Antigua],: Afghanistan skipper Suliman Saifi expressed disappointment after the side got defeated by England in the semi-final of the ongoing U19 Cricket World Cup, England.
England kept their nerve to become the first team to reach the ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup final after edging a thriller with Afghanistan by 15 runs. “Very difficult time. Momentum (was) with us. We played some great knocks. We are a good team. Winning and losing is part of cricket. Congratulations to England,” said Saifi after the game.
Spinner Rehan Ahmed became the hero for the Young Lions, taking three wickets in the penultimate over at a crucial point when their opponents needed just 18 runs from the last 10 balls.
England will now face the winner of the other semi between Australia and India on Saturday in the final – a remarkable turnaround from the previous tournament just two years ago in South Africa when they finished ninth.
As for Afghanistan, they will head to the Coolidge Cricket Ground for the third-place playoff.
