Mitchell Marsh hopes that Australia will prepare for the challenge of India after the loss to Afghanistan

Coming close to winning cricket at the World Cup is nothing new for Australia – they were in that mode for much of last year’s ODIs after a poor start – and Marsh was confident they could go deep again.

“We have a lot of faith in our team,” Marsh said. “We’re a very good cricket team. Yes, tonight we had an off night, but I think there’s something good about the fact that in 36 hours we’re going again. I think if you look back at the short history of this team, I know for a fact that it brings out the best in our guys, so- so the boys will be ready for that.”

“It’s all about confidence,” he added. “We have a good group of people and I believe our best is up there with the best. So, we need to bring that on any given day in a couple of days and move forward as quickly as possible.”

For the second time in three games, Australia were under-performing on the field as they conceded five balls – none of which were easy – and Matthew Wade’s stumping, as well as poor performance as they were put under pressure by Afghanistan’s runs between the wickets.

“…in the end, we have 36 hours to convert and I still believe our best in the field.”

Mitchell Marsh

“We’re really proud of our performance,” he said. “I’m not going to question the guys who put in the work. I don’t think it’s the same in other skills. We put in the work, we didn’t play on the field tonight and in the end it contributed to our loss.

“I think we don’t want to have too many nights on the pitch but I also believe that at our best we are an incredible team so it’s easy to watch tonight and, yes, it was disappointing but in the end, we had 36 hours to change and I still believe that our best is on the pitch.”

In contrast, Afghanistan were in the lead, most notably Noor Ahmad’s brilliant catch to remove Glenn Maxwell when he threatened to guide the chase home.

“I think in T20 especially, the shorter format, where you make those little mistakes, it’s very difficult for you to come back,” Rashid Khan said. “In ODIs, yes, you have 50 overs where you can come back. But in T20…you have no space where you can come back in the game. I think playing games is [as] important role like batting and bowling.”