Both teams showed great sportsmanship in the match AFP
Both teams showed great sportsmanship in the match AFP

In the 45th episode of Mann Ki Baat, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about the historic Test match between India and Afghanistan. He admired the spirit in which the game was played both on and off the field, and made special mention to Ajinkya Rahane, who invited the Afghanistan team for a group picture with the trophy: “I will remember this first match as the Indian team did something exemplary to the whole world. What does a winning team do after receiving the trophy? The Indian team, while receiving the trophy, warmly invited the Afghanistan team which had played its first international match to pose together for photographs. This is an example of sportsmanship.”

Modi also recalled a tweet from Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani: “I remember Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani’s words on Twitter tagging me along ‘The people of Afghanistan are extremely, proud of our hero Rashid Khan. I’m also thankful to our Indian friends who created a platform for our players to showcase their skills’.”

Modi also lauded Rashid Khan‘s performance against India and in this IPL, and extended his wishes to the Afghan cricket team for touching great heights: “Sports is a great medium for the integration of society. It is also a great medium to find out the talent in the youths. I congratulate India and Afghanistan cricket teams. I hope they will keep playing the game against each other with sportsman spirit.”

Afghanistan became the 12th Test-playing nation. However, they lost the Test by an innings and 262 runs. However, they have a lot of positives to take from the game and a long way to go in the longest format of the game.