Led by Rashid Khan, Afghanistan scripted history on Tuesday as they defeated Bangladesh in an absolute thriller to qualify for the T20 World Cup semifinal.
Kingstown [St. Vincent]: After his side’s 8-run win over Bangladesh in the Super Eights match and qualifying for the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2024 for the first time, Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan said that it’s a dream come true moment for the Afghan side.
Rashid Khan picked up four wickets and gave 23 runs in his four-over spell at an economy rate of 5.80. His stupendous spell helped Afghanistan defend the target.
Speaking after the match, Rashid said that they had faith in them when they defeated New Zealand in the group stage match.
“It’s something like a dream for us as a team to be in the semifinal. It’s all about the way we have started the tournament. The belief came when we beat New Zealand. I don’t have any words to describe the feeling. We thought 130-135 was a good total on this wicket. We were 15-20 runs short. It was all about mindset. We knew they would come hard at us to chase that in 12 overs,” Rashid said.
The Afghanistan skipper showered praise on his side and said that they have a strong T20 lineup.
“That’s where we could take advantage. We just had to be clear with our plans. We put in the effort, that’s in our hands. Everyone did a wonderful job. In T20s, we have a strong base, especially in bowling. The quality of fast bowling we have, they are skilful,” he added.
Recapping the match, after winning the toss Rashid Khan-led Afghanistan decided to bat against Bangladesh.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (43 runs from 55 balls, 3 fours and 1 six) played a stupendous knock for the Afghan side and powered them to 115-5. Ibrahim Zadran (18 runs from 29 balls, 1 four) and Rashid Khan (19* runs from 10 balls, 3 sixes) tried their best in the final stage of the first inning and added some crucial runs on the scoreboard.
Rishad Hossain led the Bangladesh bowling attack after he picked up three wickets and gave 26 runs in his four-over spell.
The second inning of the match was reduced to 19 overs, and the target was 114 runs after rain played a spoilsport in the second inning.
During the run chase, Litton Das (54* runs from 49 balls, 5 fours, and 1 six) was the only standout batter for the Tigers as he scored the highest among his teammates.
Naveen-ul-Haq and Rashid Khan picked up four wickets each in their respective spells. Fazalhaq Farooqi and Gulbadin Naib also bagged one wicket each in their respective spells and helped the Afghan side win the match by eight runs.
After the defeat, Mitchell Marsh-led Australia are also out of the tournament. The Aussies ended up in third place in the Group 1 table of the Super Eights with just two points.
