Image source, Getty Images
- author, Sam Drury
- role, BBC Sports Reporter
T20 World Cup, Super 8, St. Vincent
Afghanistan 148-6 (20 overs): Gurbaz 60 (49); Cummins 3-28
Australia 127 all out (19.2 overs): Maxwell 59 (41); Gulbuddin 4-20
Afghanistan win by 21 runs
Afghanistan shocked Australia with a historic 21-run win in St Vincent and kept their T20 World Cup hopes alive.
Needing a win to avoid elimination, Afghanistan posted 148 for 6 on a difficult surface thanks to a brilliant opening stand of 118 runs between Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran.
Australia soon narrowed their chase to 32 for 3 but Glenn Maxwell’s 35-ball half-century helped the 2021 champions turn things around.
But just when Australia looked to be gaining the upper hand, Gulbadin Naib beat Marcus Stoinis and Tim David to set up Maxwell’s prized catch.
From there, Australia collapsed from 106-6 to 113-9 before Afghanistan sealed victory in the final over, their first ever win against Australia in any form of cricket.
“We have been waiting for a long time. This is a great moment for me, for my country and for my people,” said man of the match Gulbuddin.
Pat Cummins had earlier taken his second hat-trick in as many matches – the first player to achieve the feat in a T20 international – but Afghanistan’s run of runs was beyond Australia’s control, despite Australia fighting back with the ball.
Rashid Khan’s side are firmly back in the running for a place in the semi-finals and will take on Bangladesh in the final Super 8 match (Tuesday, 1.30am BST).
“It’s a big win for us as a team and as a nation,” Rashid added. “Winning the World Cup as champions is a great achievement.” [Australia are 50-over world champions] It’s a wonderful feeling and something we’ve been missing.
“This is just the beginning for us and we have a good chance of reaching the semi-finals.”
Meanwhile, Australia face India in St Lucia (Monday, 15:30 BST) and will likely need to win to reach the last four.
History of Afghanistan
Image source, Getty Images
A win for Australia would have seen them safely through to the semi-finals along with India with one game to spare.
Instead, the group was revitalized by its memorable victory in Afghanistan.
“It’s very important for us and for our homeland. I’m sure the Afghan people are very sad about this victory and are very proud of us,” Rashid said.
The first intriguing moment came at the toss, when Australia elected to bat first on a ground that has historically been difficult to chase.
However, it soon became apparent that batting would not be easy on a bouncy pitch that provided movement for both seamers and spinners.
“We lost tonight,” Marsh said, “I don’t think the toss decided the outcome. I was just happy to bowl first.”
The Afghanistan openers weathered a tricky opening over and accelerated towards the end of the powerplay.
Gurbaz and Zadran were finding the time to attack as the innings progressed but it was their tireless running between the wickets that kept the momentum going as boundaries are not always easy to hit.
Afghanistan, coached by former England batsman Jonathan Trott, faltered after their partnership broke down late in the innings when Cummins scored his own record run, but their openers did more than enough to give their team a chance.
Image source, Getty Images
They also got off to an ideal start in the second innings, with Naveen-ul-Haq getting out Travis Head with a beautiful third ball and then Australia captain Mitchell Marsh with a slow ball.
Afghanistan were in control of the match when David Warner fell in the final over of the powerplay but knew they should not think the job was done against Australia, especially with Maxwell in bat.
The all-rounder produced a brilliant innings to deny them victory in the 50-over World Cup in India last year and at one point threatened to repeat the feat.
But this time Afghanistan were not prevented from winning. Naib almost singlehandedly led Afghanistan to victory, taking four wickets including the big wicket of Maxwell at backward point before diving to take a stunning catch for Ashton Agar.
Adam Zampa was the final batsman, holing out off Azmatullah Omarzai with four balls remaining to seal a memorable win for Afghanistan.
The jubilant celebrations told the story of Australia’s eventual defeat, and now Afghanistan has a chance to add another chapter before this World Cup ends.
“Our journey begins now,” Gulbuddin added. “We are very fortunate to have such a team.”