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‘World Cup is full of surprises’ – Fans in awe after Afghanistan keep their semi-final hopes alive with 21 run win vs Australia

Afghanistan beat Australia for the first time in ICC event history by 21 runs on Saturday and won their first Super-8 match of the T20 World Cup 2024.

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Afghanistan (Source-ICC/T20 World Cup)

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The Group 1 of the Super-8 stage of T20 World Cup has come alive again. Afghanistan defeated the Australian side to keep their hopes alive to make it to the Semi-Finals. The win was also special as the Afghans had lost to the Aussies in a heartbreaking encounter during the 2023 ODI World Cup match in Mumbai. 

Mitchell Marsh had won the toss and chose to bowl first against the Afghan side. The batting team responded with a score of 148 with Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahiom both scoring fifties. 

Pat Cummins was the hero with the ball once more as he took his second hattrick in as many games. The 31-year-old also became the first ever bowler in T20 World Cup history to take two hattricks. 

Gulbadin Naib helps Afghanistan script history 

Naveen-ul-Haq gave the Afghans an instant breakthrough when he dismissed Travis Head for a duck. The Aussie star saw his middle-stump get knocked back after the ball swung in late. The pacer struck for a second time when he had the wicket of Mitchell Marsh for 12. 

Mohammad Nabi then got the big wicket of David Warner who was caught by Noor Ahmad. It was then a 39-run stand between Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis that got Australia back into the match. 

It was then the Gulbadin Naib show as he destroyed the Australian batting order. The veteran star first dismissed Stoinis for 11 caught by Gurbaz. Then Tim David was caught plumb in front to be dismissed for just 2 runs. 

Glenn Maxwell was giving Afghanistan glimpses of his knock in Mumbai as he scored a crucial 50. Just when the Aussie looked like taking the game away from Afghanistan, Naib struck for a third time. 

The Australian batter was caught by Noor Ahmad to give the Afghans a huge wicket with 41 runs still needed. That changed the game entirely as Naib then dismissed Cummins for 3 with a slower ball. 

Rashid Khan dismissed his Gujarat Titans teammate Matthew Wade for 6, while Ashton Agar became Naveen-ul-Haq’s 3rd wicket. When Adam Zampa holed out to Mohammad Nabi the match was over and Afghanistan had achieved a famous win by 21 runs. 

Here’s how the fans reacted 

 

T20 World Cup