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The Afghanistan cricket team achieved a historic milestone by qualifying for their maiden ICC tournament semifinal, securing their spot in the final four of the ongoing T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.
They clinched their semifinal berth with an exhilarating victory over Bangladesh in the decisive Super 8 match, outplaying the experienced Bangla Tigers at the Arnos Vale Stadium in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
In the aftermath of this historic triumph, Afghanistan’s captain Rashid Khan received congratulations from Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi via a video call.
Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat first, with opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz leading from the front once again. He shared a solid opening stand of 59 runs with Ibrahim Zadran before Zadran was dismissed for 18 by Rishad Hossain.
Azmatullah Omarzai, coming in at No.3, fell for 10 runs to Mustafizur Rahman, while Gurbaz departed after a patient innings of 43 runs, also falling to Hossain.
Hossain claimed his third wicket by dismissing Gulbadin Naib for 4 runs off just 3 balls. Mohammad Nabi could only manage 1 run before falling to Taskin Ahmed. Rashid Khan and Karim Janat remained unbeaten with 19 and 7 runs respectively, as Afghanistan posted a total of 115 runs in their allotted 20 overs.
Afghanistan began their defense strongly as Fazalah Farooqui removed Tanzid Hassan for a duck in the second over, followed by Naveen-ul-Haq dismissing Bangladesh skipper Najmul Shanto for 5 runs.
Naveen doubled his wicket tally by dismissing Shakib Al Hasan for a golden duck, caught off his own bowling. Rashid Khan then joined the action, dismissing Soumya Sarkar for 10 runs and later removing Towhid Hridoy for 14 in quick succession. Rashid continued his dominance, taking the wickets of Mahmudullah for 6 runs and Hossain for a duck on consecutive deliveries to complete his four-wicket haul.
Due to rain interruptions, the match was shortened by an over, resulting in a revised target for Bangladesh. Gulbadin Naib contributed to the victory by dismissing Tanzim Hasan, and Naveen-ul-Haq picked up his fourth wicket by trapping Mustafizur Rahman lbw. Bangladesh could only manage 105 runs before being bowled out, with Litton Das remaining unbeaten on 54 runs in a losing effort.
