T20 World Cup: Afghanistan defeat Bangladesh; enter semi-finals
Two days after defeating Australia, Afghanistan advanced to the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 semifinals with a thrilling victory over Bangladesh.
After India defeated Australia in the morning game, things were very clear: a win would propel Afghanistan ahead of the 2021 champions.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, proved to be a thorn in Afghanistan’s flesh, restricting them to 115/5 in 20 overs with an outstanding bowling performance. The conditions improved slightly with rain spells, and Litton Das demonstrated batting grit, but Rashid Khan (4 for 23) and Naveen Ul Haq (4 for 26) combined to propel their team to the last four.
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Gurbaz leads Afghanistan to 115/5 on a tough pitch
In difficult batting conditions, Afghanistan openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran made a cautious start after Rashid Khan won the toss and elected to bat. In the middle overs, Gurbaz and Ibrahim stretched their partnership above 50 runs for the fourth time in this World Cup, but Afghanistan went 39 deliveries without scoring a four or six.
Gurbaz attempted to break the scoring drought by dancing down against Shakib and smashing a six down the ground. However, due to superb bowling, the dot balls continued to accumulate. Rishad Hossain, Bangladesh’s top bowler in the tournament, made the initial breakthrough when he caught Ibrahim at long-off following an acrobatic grab by Tanzim.
Rishad then delivered decisive strikes, first luring Gurbaz into a mistimed shot that he chucked up, and then seeing the back of Gulbadin Naib using the same method. Rashid Khan swung his bat around a little in the end to help his team pass the 100-run barrier, but he could only get as far as 115, including a six off the final ball.
Rashid, Naveen-ul-Haq help script famous victory
Following the rain break, the ball came perfectly onto the bat for the Bangladesh openers, and Litton Das took advantage of it in Naveen Ul Haq’s first over. But Fazalhaq Farooqi got the ball to swing and trapped Tanzid Hasan leg before in the second over. Naveen recovered strongly in his second over, dismissing Najmul Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan with successive deliveries.
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Rashid Khan hit Sarkar’s stumps with a skiddy arm delivery, triggering Bangladesh’s middle-overs collapse. Fazalhaq Farooqi dropped a catch, and Afghanistan had some nervous moments on the field, but Rashid was once again there to make gains.
Litton watched several of the middle overs from the opposite end as Bangladesh crashed and burned their way to an eight-wicket defeat. He didn’t give up, scoring a half-century in the 16th over with a sweep shot and remaining steadfast as Afghanistan looked for the final two wickets.
Another stretch of passing showers added to the drama, as Bangladesh fell behind according to DLS calculations. Play resumed, and Mustafizur Rahman had to play the final ball of the 19th over to give Litton a chance to pursue in the 20th. But this was not to be, as Naveen trapped Mustafizur’s leg before sparking frenzied celebrations.
