(AP Photo)
Afghanistan’s stunning victory over Australia in the T20 World Cup Super Eight showcased their prowess as giant-killers. Gulbadin Naib led an outstanding all-round effort that resulted in a historic 21-run win on Sunday.
This triumph marks Afghanistan’s first-ever World Cup win against Australia, positioning them strongly for a potential top-two finish in the Super Eight phase.
Australian skipper Marsh’s decision to bowl first on a challenging pitch came under scrutiny afterward, given its unpredictability for chasing targets.
Afghanistan’s strategy revolved around navigating the pitch’s challenges, with Gurbaz and Zadran displaying remarkable batting finesse. Gurbaz’s aggressive stroke play complemented Zadran’s calculated approach, forming a formidable partnership that Australia struggled to break.
Despite Stoinis dismissing Gurbaz in the 16th over, Afghanistan maintained momentum, albeit briefly. Australia capitalized with Adam Zampa’s crucial double strike in his final over, removing Omarzai and Zadran to disrupt Afghanistan’s top order significantly.
Pat Cummins once again showcased his prowess in the death overs with a remarkable hattrick performance for Australia. His first victim was Rashid Khan on the final ball of the 18th over, followed by consecutive dismissals of Gulbadin and Janat in the 20th over, marking his second hattrick of the T20 World Cup.
Initially, Afghanistan seemed set for a daunting total after reaching 118/0 by the 16th over. However, Australia staged a fierce comeback, restricting them to 148 runs by the end of their innings.
Australia’s batting innings began disastrously as Naveen Ul-Haq swiftly dismantled Travis Head’s stumps in just the third ball. He continued his onslaught by dismissing Marsh in his next over, while Nabi sent Warner packing shortly after, leaving Australia struggling at 32-3 by the end of the powerplay.
Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis then stabilized the innings, adding 37 runs in the subsequent four overs to bring Australia to 70/3 halfway through their chase. Maxwell took charge, aggressively scoring boundaries off Afghan spinners reminiscent of his impactful innings against the same opponents in last year’s ODI World Cup.
However, Afghanistan struck back with Gulbadin taking crucial wickets in consecutive overs, adding another twist to the match. Despite Maxwell’s fifty, decorated with 6 fours and 3 sixes, Gulbadin emerged as the hero of the day. He returned to dismiss Maxwell, aided by a spectacular catch from Noor Ahmad, and completed his impressive spell by also removing hattrick hero Cummins in his final over, finishing with figures of 4/20 from four overs.
After that, it was just a question of when the inevitable would happen, and indeed it did. Shortly thereafter, Zampa and Agar were dismissed, sealing Afghanistan’s historic victory.
