Gulbadin Naib (4/20) and Naveen-ul-Haq (3/20) shared seven wickets between them as Afghanistan stun Australia by 21 runs at the Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, St Vincent to stay alive in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Chasing 149 to win, Australia were bundled out for 127 & they are creating history for the first time they beat the mighty Australians.
The happiness Pat Cummins had after recording back-to-back hat-tricks was short-lived, as Afghanistan pulled off one of the biggest upsets in T20 World Cup history on Sunday, stunning Australia by 21 runs in their Super 8 match. With the exception of Glenn Maxwell’s 59 off 41 balls, Australia could not muster the momentum needed to win the match as they were bowled out for 127 by Gulbadin Naib’s outstanding 4/20 and Naveen-ul-Haq’s 3/20. Their aspirations were fulfilled in Kingstown today, over eight months after they came agonizingly close to beating Australia at the ODI World Cup in November.
This is Afghanistan’s first win over Australia in any format, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran setting up the platform with fine half-centuries. Cummins joined Wasim Akram by becoming only the second bowler to claim back-to-back hat-tricks in international cricket, but Australia’s struggles with the bat could be gauged by the fact that only three of their batters registered double-digit scores. After being reduced to 32/2 and then 71/4, Afghanistan sniffed history, and only one man stood in their way.
Glenn Maxwell was about to do it again. Off came the helmet as the Big Show raced to a quickfire half-century, but this time around, the finishing touches went missing. Maxwell slashed Gulbadin to point where Noor Ahmed took a stunning catch. Off came the wheels and with every over, Afghanistan sensed history.
Read more: https://thelocaljournalist.com/india-beat-bangladesh-by-50-runs-for-back-to-back-win-in-super-8/
