The ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024 has been a tournament of some unexpected things, and one was witnessed on Saturday. Match No. 48 was played between Afghanistan and Australia at Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown. Not many thought that Australia, which were coming off five consecutive wins, would end up losing against Afghanistan. But it happened, and Afghanistan registered a historic win to keep their hopes alive.
Afghanistan cricket team lost their last two games by a big margin, and not many predicted that they would win here. But the game went from one side to another, but in the end, Afghanistan cricket team held their nerves and registered a 21-run win to make history. Not many things went their way. It started with the toss, and Australia elected to bowl first.
T20 World Cup 2024: Check the complete qualification scenario for Afghanistan after the win against Australia
Both Afgani openers started well and added their third 100-run stand of the tournament. They added 118 runs for the opening wicket in 16.5 overs and scored fifty each. Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored a 49-ball 60, including four sixes and four boundaries, while Ibrahim Zadran also played a good hand with 51 off 48 balls, with six fours in it. But despite a good start, they only reached a below-par score of 148/6 in 20 overs.
For Australia, Pat Cummins took a hat-trick, which was his second consecutive hat-trick in the tournament. Chasing the score, Australia lost the top three wickets for 32 runs in 5.1 overs. Glenn Maxwell showed some resilience and scored 59 runs off 41 balls with six fours and three sixes, but as he got out, Australia lost the game.
| Team | Played | Win | Loss | NR | PTS | NRR |
| India | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +2.425 |
| Australi | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | +0.223 |
| Afghanistan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -0.650 |
| Bangladesh | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -2.489 |
The whole team was bowled out for 127 runs in 19.2 overs. Naveen-ul-Haq took 3/20, while Gulbadin Naib registered an excellent figure of 4/20. Afghanistan won the game by a margin of 21 runs. This win gave them two points, and they are back in the semi-final race. India are at the top of this group with 4 points, while Australia and Afghanistan have 2 points each.
Now, Australia will face India in their last match, while Afghanistan cricket team will face Bangladesh in their last Super 8 game of the T20 World Cup 2024. The equation is very simple: Afghans need to beat Bangladesh by a large margin and hope that India beat Australia. If both Afghanistan and Australia win their last game, then it will come down to the NRR.
Also Read: First batsman from India to reach three thousand runs in the World Cup