Afghanistan stun Australia, keep semis hopes alive

Kingstown, June 23

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Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran shared an opening stand of 118 before Gulbadin Naib took over to drive Afghanistan to a 21-run win over Australia and keep alive their hopes of reaching the T20 World Cup semifinals.

A win for Australia would have sent the 2021 champions and India into the last-four, but even a second hat-trick in as many matches from Pat Cummins was not enough to keep their unbeaten record at the tournament intact.

Half-centuries from Gurbaz and Zadran helped the Afghans rack up 148/6 in their 20 overs, before their bowlers dismissed the Australians for 127 on a tricky track.

Sleeping better

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan can finally look forward to sleeping better after avenging last year’s loss to Australia in the 50-overs World Cup. Cramped-up Glenn Maxwell’s incredible double-century helped Australia snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in November, leading to Afghanistan falling just short of qualifying for the semifinals.

“I can sleep better now, I think,” Khan said. “That game kept coming in my mind … Maxi, the way he played that night, took the game away from us and I didn’t sleep the whole night. Tonight, because of the happiness I won’t be able to sleep. It’s a massive win for us, as a team, as a nation.” — Reuters

Scoreboard

Afghanistan

R Gurbaz c Warner b Stoinis 60

I Zadran c Marsh b Zampa 51

A Omarzai b Zampa 2

K Janat c David b Cummins 13

R Khan c David b Cummins 2

M Nabi not out 10

G Naib c Maxwell b Cummins 0

N Kharote not out 1

Extras: (b 4, lb 1, w 4) 9

Total: (6 wickets, 20 overs) 148

FOW: 1-118, 2-121, 3-122, 4-126, 5-141, 6-141

Bowling O M R W

Ashton Agar 4 1 17 0

Josh Hazlewood 4 0 39 0

Pat Cummins 4 0 28 3

Adam Zampa 4 0 28 2

Glenn Maxwell 2 0 12 0

Marcus Stoinis 2 0 19 1

Australia

T Head b Naveen 0

D Warner c Ahmad b Nabi 3

M Marsh c Nabi b Naveen 12

G Maxwell c Ahmad b Naib 59

M Stoinis c Gurbaz b Naib 11

T David lbw b Naib 2

M Wade c Janat b Khan 5

P Cummins b Naib 3

A Agar c Naib b Naveen 2

A Zampa c Nabi b Omarzai 9

J Hazlewood not out 5

Extras: (b 2, lb 6, nb 1, w 7) 16

Total: (all out, 19.2 overs) 127

FOW: 1-0, 2-16, 3-32, 4-71, 5-85, 6-106, 7-108, 8-111, 9-113

Bowling O M R W

Naveen-ul-Haq 4 0 20 3

Fazalhaq Farooqi 3 0 21 0

Azmatullah Omarzai 1.2 0 10 1

Mohammad Nabi 1 0 1 1

Nangeyalia Kharote 1 0 13 0

Rashid Khan 4 0 23 1

Noor Ahmad 1 0 11 0

Gulbadin Naib 4 0 20 4

Player of the Match: Gulbadin Naib