Mumbai: South Africa’s opening batsman Hashim Amla revealed that his team would not take Afghanistan lightly in their critical second game of the Group 1 ICC World Twenty20 on Sunday after Friday-s loss to England.
“We can’t take any team for granted. We know we have to play our best cricket. The shorter the format the more chances a minnow team have of upstaging a strong team. They are a good side and have been playing some exciting cricket. We don’t take them lightly,” Amla said
Amla asserted that they played the best side against England but their opponents were too good on Friday. “The squad yesterday is still the best team and us scoring 229 was pretty good on this type of ground. I think I know that the captain always tried to play the 11 best suited to the venue. We lacked in basics, gave away too many extras. Hopefully we will rectify the mistakes and put up a good show,” he said.
The stylish right-hander who put up a 96-run opening partnership with Quinton de Kock said that he enjoyed batting with the youngster. “We enjoy playing together. We both have different styles but we complement each other well,” he said.
Afghanistan skipper Asghar Stanikzai pointed out spin was their strength and they would rely on it to unsettle the Proteas. “We have a very good spin attack, Rashid (Khan), (Mohammad) Nabi, he is a good off breaker, Hamza (Hotak), the left arm spinner. Throughout the tournament they have bowled very well, so our strength is spin bowling as well,” he said.
