Afghanistan on Sunday slayed the demons of that heartbreaking loss to Australia in the ODI World Cup with a 21-run victory over Mitchell Marsh’s side in the T20 World Cup’s Super 8 stage. Afghanistan, who needed a victory to stay in contention for a spot in the semi-final, overwhelmed the Australians with their attacking batting, on-spot bowling and enthusiastic fielding.
Afghans ride on openers’ half-centuries
Mitchell Marsh won the toss and elected to field first. Afghanistan’s openers, who have been their main batting strength in the tournament, got them to a good start once again. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran both scored half-centuries as the Afghans posted a competitive total of 148 for the Aussies to chase.
Gulbadin Naib takes Aussies for a ride
The Aussies were nowhere near their best and lost early wickets to put themselves under pressure. Glenn Maxwell, who was the hero of that chase in the ODI World Cup with a 201-run innings, once again threatened to take the game away with his half-century.
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However, the Afghan bowlers stuck to their plan and Gulbadin Naib proved to be the unlikely hero. Naib took four wickets including the wicket of Maxwell to push the Afghans closer to victory. Ultimately, the Aussies were bundled out for 127 runs, handling a famous victory to the Afghans.
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