Rashid Khan said on Saturday after Afghanistan’s resounding win against New Zealand in this year’s T20 World Cup that it had been one of the team’s greatest victories to date.

In his post-match interview, Rashed also thanked all the fans at home and around the world for their “love and support and prayers.”

This was a great motivator for the team, he said.

Discussing Afghanistan’s performance, he emphasized that it had been “a great team effort.”

“It’s not just about the bowling. It’s the batting, the way Ibrahim [Zadran] and [Rahmanullah] Gurbaz started,” he said, adding that they knew where their skills lay and how they could score.

“But the way they played, they didn’t throw away their wickets early on when they had a few dot balls from overs seven to nine. I think that was the time when they thought about taking it deep and overall it was a great effort, great win for Afghanistan and it’s a great feeling to be leading this side and winning against New Zealand.”

He also said: “Cricket is the biggest source of happiness back home,” adding that the support of fans motivates the team.

He said he was sure the team’s win over New Zealand would bring fans at home great joy.

Rashid said this win was a big win and that the team will continue to try their best throughout the event.

In a post on X later Saturday, Rashid said: “There is no better feeling than this. Great team effort!”

Addressing the team in the change rooms after the match however, Rashid urged the players to “Stay humble. Stay grounded.”

“We have natural skills. We need to know ourselves. We have not fully known ourselves yet. If we fully know ourselves, such teams cannot get anywhere close to us,” he said.

This came after Afghanistan thrashed New Zealand by 84 runs to grab top spot in Group C at the T20 World Cup at the Guyana National Stadium on Saturday.

Kane Williamson, New Zealand’s captain, meanwhile said in his post-match interview that “Afghanistan were outstanding.”

He said while New Zealand’s performance on the field had been disappointing, it was met with an outstanding performance by Afghanistan, which “showed their skill”

“Afghanistan outplayed us in all facets of the game,” he said.

“From our perspective it wasn’t good enough in terms of starting a tournament.”

Afghanistan made their defence of 159 a very one-sided affair by bundling New Zealand out for just 75 with four-fours from Fazalhaq Farooqi and Rashid himself.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz meanwhile said in a video message after the match that the win was “unbelievable”.

“I know that people back home are so happy.

“I think everyone will be happy with the performance,” he said.

Afghanistan now top the Group C table after their second straight win, scripted by a second straight century opening partnership between Gurbaz and Ibrahim.

New Zealand, meanwhile, are at the bottom with a net run rate of -4.200 after losing their tournament opener by a big margin. They now have a challenging path to qualify for the Super Eights because their next game is against co-hosts West Indies in Tarouba.

Messages of congratulations have meanwhile been streaming in for the team, with some big name cricketers joining in.

Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan was one of them who lauded Afghanistan in a post on X. He said: “Well done Afghanistan on beating New Zealand.”

“If their batting clicks regularly they can be very dangerous side in this World Cup cos their bowling is top quality in these conditions,” he added.

Afghanistan’s next match is against Papua New Guinea on Friday, June 14.

Fans across Afghanistan will once again be able to tune in to Ariana Television and watch this match live.

Sunday’s clash

Meanwhile, the highly anticipated clash between Pakistan and India will get underway today (Sunday June 9) at 7pm Kabul time.

The match will be played in New York and it will be broadcast live on Ariana Television.

The pre-match show will start at 6.30pm on Ariana Television.