Afghanistan made history on Tuesday as they beat Bangladesh in a rain-curtailed, tense, low-scoring match in St. Vincent to reach the semi-finals of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup for the first time. And with that, Afghanistan also ended title favorites Australia's campaign in this year's World Cup.
Next, Afghanistan will face South Africa in Trinidad on Thursday, with the winner advancing to potentially play defending T20 champions England or India in Saturday's final. Afghanistan, who advanced to the Super 8 stage with three wins in four matches in Group C, defeated New Zealand and Australia on their way to a historic qualification for the semi-finals in the World Cup.
Moment of Pride
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan said that his team gave their "100 percent effort" to reach the T20 World Cup semi-finals for the first time in their history and "make the country proud."
In the final Super 8s match of the tournament, Afghanistan batted first and scored 115/5, but the target was adjusted to 114 in 19 overs due to rain. Bangladesh were eventually bowled out for 105 in 17.5 overs.
Rashid Khan, who scored a quick 19 not out of just 10 balls and took four wickets for 23 runs, explained Afghanistan's unwavering belief in their abilities and the significance of the victory in his post-match comments.
"It's something like a dream for us as a team to be in the semi-final. The belief came when we beat New Zealand (at the group stage)," said Rashid.
"We thought 130-135 would be a good total on this wicket, but still, we knew if we stuck to our plans we would have a good chance to defend the total. We just gave 100 percent effort, to make the country and the people back home proud of us."
Rashid also mentioned that reaching the semi-finals proved cricket legend and expert Brian Lara right, acknowledging Lara's belief in their potential.
Disappointment for Bangladesh
Bangladesh, also aiming for their first World Cup semi-final, needed to win by a large margin to qualify based on net run-rate (NRR). They managed to restrain Afghanistan's dangerous opening pair, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, both of whom were dismissed by leg-spinner Rishad Hossain (3-26).
However, skipper Rashid Khan hit three late sixes to boost the total.
Bangladesh's target was revised to 114 off 19 overs, but they needed to chase it down in 12.1 overs to improve their NRR and qualify.
Opener Litton Das remained unbeaten on 54, but they lost veteran Shakib al Hasan and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto to successive deliveries from Naveen in the third over.
Although they failed to achieve their own goal, the Tigers were still in the running for a consolation win that would have seen Australia qualify ahead of Afghanistan on NRR.
However, Naveen claimed the final two Bangladesh wickets on successive deliveries, around a brief rain delay, sparking rapturous celebrations.
