Rashid Khan insisted that "anything can happen" and that Afghanistan are still holding hopes of qualifying for next year's World Cup in England and Wales, after beating the United Arab Emirates by five wickets on Tuesday. Rashid took five for 41 as the UAE were bowled out for 177 and team-mates Najibullah Zadran and Gulbadin Naib both hit unbeaten fifties to see Afghanistan home with more than 15 overs to spare in Harare.
Afghanistan didn't carry any points into the Super Six round, but two successive victories mean they are now level with Ireland on four points. If they win their final match against the Irish on Friday convincingly and Scotland and Zimbabwe both lose their remaining games against the West Indies and the UAE respectively, Afghanistan could still snatch one of the two places for the World Cup.
"Anything can happen," said Rashid. "In the Super Six, it's quite difficult for anyone to go directly (into the final). "Still now, a single team hasn't qualified. Everyone is in doubt. That is a good thing. We just need to win the last match and see what happens."
It was the 19-year-old Rashid's fourth ODI five-for, taking him to a staggering 96 wickets in just 42 games. "It feels good to take five-wicket haul and to contribute in the bowling department," he added.
"I did well in the last matches as well, but I was unlucky in not taking many wickets. Today I took wickets, and it was a good day for me." After a poor start to the tournament with losses to Scotland, Zimbabwe and Hong Kong, Afghanistan have kept themselves in contention with wins over West Indies and the UAE.
"In this Super Six, the target was to win all three matches and just see what happens," said Rashid. "Anything can happen in the match between UAE and Zimbabwe. We can only hope for the best." Rashid carried the extra burden of captaincy in this tournament as regular captain Asghar Stanikzai recovered from an emergency appendectomy.
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