Afghanistan defeated Bangladesh on Tuesday, June 25, at the Arnos Vale Ground, earning a spot in the T20 World Cup 2024 semifinals. It was Afghanistan’s most notable victory to date. Captain Rashid Khan posted on social media to share his joy following the historic win.
After defeating Papua New Guinea, Uganda, and formidable New Zealand, the Blue Tigers advanced to the Super Eight stage. They went on to win consecutive games over Australia and Bangladesh after losing to India in the Super Eights, which was their first World Cup semifinal appearance. Afghanistan’s path to the semifinals became clear when Australia was eliminated on Monday by India. In a match shortened by rain, Rashid and company defeated Bangladesh by eight runs (DLS method) to advance to the semifinals.
Soon after the historic victory, Rashid Khan shared a photo of himself and India captain Rohit Sharma on Instagram, tagging the song “Bambai se aaya mera dost” from the film “Aap ki Khatir” in the caption. Remarkably, following his heroic half-century, Rohit was named Player of the Match in the India vs. Australia match.
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Speaking of the low-scoring thriller, Afghanistan elected to bat first after winning the toss. On a challenging pitch, they had a calm start thanks to the 59 runs that Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, their prolific opening duo, scored in just 11 overs. Against 55 balls, the wicketkeeper-batter top-scored with 43. The Afghan middle-order batsmen were unable to get going, but Rashid’s 10-ball 19 not out helped them reach their 20-over goal of 116. However, due to a weather delay, it was changed to 114 in 19 overs.
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Only two other Bangladeshi batsmen reached double figures, but Litton Das carried his bat and scored a 49-ball 54 in reply. Bangladesh was knocked out for 105 in 17.5 overs, with four wickets each taken by Rashid Khan and Naveen-ul-Haq.
The semifinalists of the 2024 T20 World Cup are set.
In the first semifinal, which takes place on Thursday, June 27, at Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad, an enthusiastic Afghanistan will take against undefeated South Africa following some exciting matches in the league and Super Eights stages.
Conversely, on the same day, Team India will play England in the second semifinal at Providence Stadium in Georgetown, Guyana.