Afghanistan claimed a historic semifinal berth in the T20 World Cup 2024 after beating Bangladesh by eight runs on Tuesday.
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AFGHANISTAN GRABS HISTORIC SEMIS BERTH AFTER BEATING BANGLADESH
Afghanistan grabbed the historic semifinal berth after defeating Bangladesh with pacer Naveen-ul-Haq leading the way.
Naveen, named Player of the Match, combined with Fazalhaq Farooqi with three early wickets between them to key Afghanistan’s surge.
He would later get the next ball to straighten to catch Shakib Al Hasan’s leading edge for a return catch that had Bangladesh going 23 for 3.
“We have worked so hard over the past few years and we were dreaming and working for this day. I’m lost for words,” Naveen said.
“We always knew that they were going hard in the powerplay to chase the total down in 12.1 overs so we knew we were in the game as long as we kept picking wickets,” he added.
AFGHANS FLOCK STREETS BACK HOME TO CELEBRATE MOMENTOUS FEAT
Thousands of Afghan cricket fans flocked to the streets back home to celebrate their team’s momentous victory.
The win was Afghanistan’s first time to reach the T20 World Cup semifinals and the first also in any format.
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan acknowledged the impact of their team’s win back home, even as he recalled the path they’ve gone through.
“It’s something like a dream for us as a team to be in the semifinals. It’s all about the wat we have started the tournament,” Khan said.
“The belief came when we beat New Zealand. I don’t have any words to describe the feeling,” he added.
Khan noted that a 130-135 number “was a good total on this wicket” as they were 15-20 runs short at the time.
“It was all about mindset. We knew they would come hard at us to chase that in 12 overs,” he added.
DAVID WARNER RETIRES AFTER AFGHANISTAN WIN OUSTS AUSTRALIA
Meanwhile, David Warner retired from international cricket officially as Afghanistan’s win ousted Australia from title contention.
Warner capped his 15-year international career after Australia’s Super 8 match against India in St Lucia.
He converted six runs off six balls, edging Arshdeep Sing to slip where Suryakumr Yadav took a low catch.
Warner walked off the pitch frustrated with his head bowed not knowing if that was his last match at the time.
Furthermore, teammate Josh Hazlewood described Warner’s career as amazing.
“We’ll definitely miss him around the group, out in the field and off-field – an amazing all-format career,” Hazlewood said.
“He goes down as our best multi-format player. He’ll be missed at the top of the order,” he added.
