Afghanistan reached their first-ever World Cup semi-final with a dramatic eight-run victory over Bangladesh, but Australia were eliminated from the T20 tournament as a result.
Bangladesh went into the match with a chance of beating Australia to reach the final but after a rain-affected interruption to their innings, they were bowled out for 105 after trying to reach Duckworth Lewis Stern’s revised target of 114 in 19 overs.
Captain Rashid Khan (4-23) and Naveen-ul-Haq (4-26) took four wickets each to guide Afghanistan to a historic first win in the World Cup semi-final against South Africa in Trinidad on Wednesday night.
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During a tense T20 World Cup match, Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan lost his cool after a miscommunication over runs in the second over against Bangladesh and hurled his bat at his partner Karim Janat.
Afghanistan’s hopes were dashed earlier when they were restricted to a modest 115 for 5, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz top-scoring but only managing 43 off 55 balls.
Rishad Hossain (3-26) eventually opened the scoring as Afghanistan suffered a dramatic collapse from 84-1 to 93-5 in the space of 11 balls before Rashid scored 19 off 10 balls, hitting three sixes.
In the final over, the Afghanistan captain was so desperate to score in the closing stages that he became enraged when he was denied his second run and threw his bat at batting partner Karim Janat.
Final standings for Super 8 Group 2 of the T20 World Cup. India and Afghanistan advance to semi-finals
Bangladesh needed to reach the target within 12.1 overs to book their place in the semi-finals but rain prevented them from fighting back.
Litton Das batted for a clean 54 off 49 balls but wickets kept falling at the other end and Rashid took two in two balls in the 11th over to reduce the Tigers’ score to 80-7.
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan (left) and Gulbuddin Naib celebrate after reaching the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
Naveen then rounded off the innings with a double strike from consecutive deliveries in the penultimate over to seal a win that secured a place in the semi-finals and saw the Afghanistan players celebrate in tears.
India defeated Australia by 24 runs in St Lucia on Monday, ending their hopes of qualifying for the 2021 champions, and will now face defending champions England in the second semi-final.
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Highlights from St Lucia: Rohit Sharma scores 92 off 41 balls as India beat Australia and reach the T20 World Cup semi-finals
What’s next?
Afghanistan face South Africa The Proteas beat England to take the lead in Group 2 of the Super 8s in the first semi-final in Trinidad (Thursday 1.30am, Great Britain vs Ireland).
India They took top spot in Group 1 and set a date for Thursday. England Guyana (3:30 p.m.).
There is no reserve day for the second semi-final between England and India but 250 minutes of extra time has been added to the scheduled date meaning that if weather prevents the match from being completed, India will progress to the final by topping their Super 8 pool.
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