Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi admitted they were not good enough with the ball after suffering a huge loss of 170 runs in the second ODI against India at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, on Wednesday.

India posted a gargantuan total of 402 runs on the board after Shahidi decided to field first after winning the toss. Shubman Gill continued his rich form, scoring a majestic knock of 154 runs off just 110 balls, which is his ninth ODI century.

Ishan Kishan also continued his purple patch, smashing 125 runs off just 79 balls, which is his second ODI hundred. The duo added 224 runs off 140 balls for the third wicket partnership to put India in command.

Shahidi said in the post-match presentation, “You cannot put all things on toss. I think we were not good enough at bowling. So many easy options in the bowling to them. We gave them momentum, I think that’s why we didn’t bowl well in the first 20 overs. Yeah, it was hot, but at the same time, you cannot put everything on toss. You have to bowl well in the right areas. We didn’t do that well today, so hopefully we will learn from this.”

Speaking on the positives and learnings in the ongoing series, Shahidi picked Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s batting as one of the plus points.

He added, “I think a lot of learning because it was a tough series for us and hopefully in the Chennai game, we do well and I think we had positives also in this series. The way Rahmat played today and the way Gurbaz is playing, we have all these positive things with us, but we need to be up to the mark in our bowling department because next game is also crucial for us, and hopefully we are up to the mark in the bowling department.”

The third and final ODI between India and Afghanistan will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Saturday.