AFG vs BAN 2024 T20 WC Match Report: Afghanistan defeated Bangladesh in a Super 8 Group 1 game by 8 runs to confirm their place in the semi-final of a World Cup for the very first time, kicking Australia out of the tournament in the process.
The 52nd match of the 2024 T20 World Cup between Afghanistan and Bangladesh was played at the Arnos Vale Stadium in Kingstown, St. Vincent, and saw Afghanistan win the toss and choose to bat first.
AFG vs BAN 2024 T20 WC Match Report
On a very difficult pitch to bat on, the Afghanistan openers gave their side a slow yet stable start.
The first to fall was Ibrahim Zadran, who was dismissed in the 11th over at the score of 59. The Afghans didn’t lose too many wickets, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz playing an anchor role on a tricky pitch.
Azmatullah Omarzai and Gurbaz lost their wickets in the 15th and 16th, respectively. With a score of 89/3 and less than four overs remaining, Afghanistan had to pick up the pace.
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That didn’t happen, as Gulbadin Naib lost his wicket in the same over. Karim Janat hit a boundary, and Rashid Khan smacked three sixes to end the inning with a dismal score of 115 at the end of their 20 overs.
It had rained between the innings, making batting even more difficult here. The first wicket came quickly, as Tanzid Hasan was caught before the wicket by Fazalhaq Farooqi in the second over for a duck.
Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto came and went soon after, dismissed in the third over. But Bangladesh had been scoring quick runs so far, mostly at the hands of Liton Das.
In came Shakib Al Hasan, who was caught and bowled for a golden duck by Naveen Ul Haq. The score was 23/3 at the end of the third over. Soumya Sarkar would walk in and maintain the run rate for a few balls before he was bowled by Captain Rashid Khan in the seventh over.
Towzid Hridoy stayed on the pitch for some time and scored some quick runs, but Bangladesh needed someone to support Liton at one end. Hridoy was dismissed by Rashid as well.
Having breached the 80-run mark in the 11th over, Bangladesh lost their sixth wicket in Mahmadullah at the hands of Rashid as the dam broke on their inning. Rishad Hossain was bowled by the skipper on the very next ball.
At this point, Bangladesh, who had stayed ahead of the DLS score for their entire inning so far, had finally fallen behind. It is then a miracle that the rain returned at this very exact moment. But they did not last long, as only one over from the match was reduced, with the revised target being 114 in 19 overs.
In the 15th over, with 22 required in 29 balls with three wickets in hand, Tanzim Hasan Sakib was dismissed by Gulbadin Naib. But from this point on, Liton Das picked up the pace and reached his 50 soon after.
In the second last over of the inning, bowled by Naveen Ul Haq, Bangladesh needed nine runs in as many balls. But the star pacer cleaned up the Bangla Tigers’ tail as Bangladesh fell short of the target by eight runs.
This win meant that Afghanistan qualified for the semi-final of a World Cup for the first time in their history, knocking out Australia and Bangladesh in the process.
For his brilliant spell of 4/26 in 35 overs, Naveen Ul Haq was named the Player of the Match.
As for Afghanistan, they will face South Africa in Semi-final 1 on Thursday, June 27 at 6:00 AM (IST) in the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago.
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