Afghanistan stun Australia, keep semis hopes alive
Kingstown, June 23
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