NEW DELHI: After leading his team to a historic victory over England, Mujeeb Ur Rahman dedicated his Player of the Match award to those affected by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake that hit Afghanistan.
Last week, the earthquake in the Herat province of Afghanistan claimed many lives and destroyed thousands of residential houses, according to Khaama Press citing the Taliban-led ministry.
Sparking delirious scenes in the Afghan dugout, the men for the warrior country upset the defending champions England by 69 runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the national capital on Sunday.
“I want to dedicate this award to the people back home, who have been affected by the earthquake in Herat. This whole win is for them. This is something we could do as a team and I could do myself as a player,” Mujeeb said during a post-match presentation.
Mujeeb shone with his all-round performance with both bat and ball as he scored a quickfire 28 off 16 before leading his team’s lion-hearted bowling effort with 3 wickets.
The lanky right-arm off-break bowler described beating defending champions as a “great achievement for the whole team” and said he bowled wicket-to-wicket to break the back of England’s batting.
“Very proud moment to be here at the World Cup and beating the champions. It was a great achievement for the whole team and this is the kind of opportunity we have been working hard for. Wonderful performances by the bowlers and the batters. As a spinner, it is pretty hard to bowl in the powerplay. But I have been working in the nets. There is not much room for error to bowl wide so I have tried to bowl wicket-to-wicket. We knew that dew would play some part and that is why I wanted to bowl in the powerplay. The ball was holding a little bit as well. Even if there was dew, I was mentally prepared. Not to give much room and bowl in the right areas,” Mujeeb added.
Mujeeb not only starred with the ball but with the willow as well as he scored a quickfire 28 off 16 when it mattered the most for his team.
Talking about his batting performance, Mujeeb said, “It is all about the management. They have been giving me confidence. I want to contribute as a lower-order batter as well, and those 25-30 runs help the team as well. I want to continue doing that.” (ANI)