Follow UsFrom 83 for 1 at the start of the 16th over, Afghanistan were bundled out for just 156 in the 38th over in their World Cup opener against Bangladesh in Dharamsala. They lost their nine wickets for just 73 runs in a span of 128 deliveries.
Head coach Jonathan Trott believes that his side is never going to be in the hunt with such collapses and has called for his middle-order batters to take more responsibility.
"I think when you lose nine wickets for 73, there is a problem. So, the decision making, the stability, certainly when you get bowled out in 38 overs, that was the problem today," Trott said at the post-match press conference.
"So, I would say middle-order needs to take more responsibility. But also, if there's momentum in the game, try and wrestle the momentum back. It just seemed to go all Bangladesh's way, and no one stayed there, and sort of tried to absorb some pressure.
"It seemed to be sort of one-dimensional a little bit, so that's something we've got to work on."
At 83 for 1 after 16 overs, Afghanistan looked in a good position. But Trott believes it is key to be in good positions for longer periods of time.
"I just think we need to do it more consistently for longer periods of time, certainly over 100 overs for an ODI. It's a long day, and you need to be on it all the time," Trott said.
"So being more consistent in our basics is what's going to look after us going forward in this tournament. I look forward to the challenge that lays ahead in the next coming matches, and I'm excited to see how they respond."
Trott hopes that his side will bounce back in the next two games agianst India and England.
"I’d like to see us bounce back. I think, obviously, we know the areas we need to improve. And we've got two big games in Delhi now against India and then England," the former England batter said.
"So, we've got to dust ourselves off. We travel tomorrow to Delhi. A couple of practices and then a big match against India, which is going to be a great spectacle. I know the boys will be really, really up for it."