Afghanistan surprise Australia, keep semi-final hopes alive

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); Gulbadin 4-20

Afghanistan won by 21 points

Dashboard. Paintings

Afghanistan shocked Australia and kept their T20 World Cup hopes alive with a historic 21-run victory in St. Vincent.

Needing a win to avoid elimination, Afghanistan posted 148-6 on a difficult surface thanks to a superb opening score of 118 between Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran.

They quickly reduced Australia to 32-3 in the chase before Glenn Maxwell’s 35-ball half-century put things right for the 2021 champions.

But just when Australia seemed to have the advantage, Gulbadin Naib removed Marcus Stoinis and Tim David before taking the wicket of Maxwell.

From there, Australia collapsed from 106-6 to 113-9 and Afghanistan sealed victory – their first against Australia in any form of cricket – in the final.

“We have been waiting for a long time, this is a big moment for me, my nation, my people,” said player of the match Gulbadin.

Pat Cummins had already taken his second hat-trick in as many matches – the first player to achieve the feat in T20 international matches – but despite Australia fighting back with the ball, Afghanistan’s total proved to be at beyond them.

Rashid Khan’s side are now back in the race to reach the semi-finals and face Bangladesh in their final Super 8 match (Tuesday, 01:30 BST).

“This is a huge victory for us as a team and as a nation,” Rashid added. “In a World Cup, beating champions (Australia are 50-over world champions) is a great feeling and it’s something we’ve missed.

“This is just the beginning for us and we have every chance of qualifying for the semi-finals.”

Meanwhile, Australia face India in St Lucia (Monday, 3:30 p.m. BST) and will likely need to win to advance to the last four.

History of Afghanistan

A win for Australia would have seen them and India safely through to the semi-finals with one game to spare.

Instead, the group came to life thanks to a memorable victory in Afghanistan.

“It is very important for us and for our country. The Afghans regret this victory terribly and I am sure they are proud of us,” Rashid said.

The first moment of intrigue came during the toss when Australia opted to bowl first on a pitch where chasing has always been difficult.

However, it soon became clear that hitting was not going to be easy on a bouncy pitch offering movement to seamers and spinners alike.

“We were outplayed tonight,” Marsh said. “I don’t think it was won or lost on the toss, I was more than happy to bowl first.”

The Afghan openers faced some tricky overs before picking up pace towards the end of the powerplay.

Gurbaz and Zadran picked their moments to attack superbly throughout the innings but, with boundaries not always easy to come by, it was their tireless running between the wickets that really kept the momentum going.

Afghanistan, coached by former England slugger Jonathan Trott, faltered once the partnership was broken, with Cummins stepping in to claim a goal of his own late in the innings, but the openers had done more than enough to give a chance to their team.

They also got off to an ideal start in the second innings, as Naveen-ul-Haq bowled Travis Head with a magnificent third ball and then got rid of Australian skipper Mitchell Marsh with a slower ball.

When David Warner fell on the final power play, Afghanistan were in control, but they knew they didn’t think the job was done against Australia, especially with Maxwell in the crease.

The all-rounder produced one of the superb innings that hampered them in the 50-over World Cup in India last year and, for a while, he threatened to repeat the feat.

But this time, Afghanistan did not give in. Naib almost single-handedly took them to the line, taking four wickets – including Maxwell’s big one, caught at backward point – then diving to make a stunning catch and get rid of Ashton Agar.

Adam Zampa was the last man to go, beating Azmatullah Omarzai with four balls left in the match as Afghanistan secured a momentous triumph.

The joyous celebrations told the story of Australia’s defeat. And now Afghanistan has the opportunity to add more chapters before this World Cup ends.

“Our journey begins now,” Gulbadin added. “We are very lucky to have a team like this.”