Afghanistan qualified for T20 World Cup 2024 semis by beating Bangladesh© AFP

No longer the ‘minnows’, Afghanistan proved once again why they belong to the cricketing elite as they defeated Australia in T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8s to qualify for the semi-finals, for the first time in their history. Afghanistan first got the world to stand up and take notice after they defeated Australia in the Super 8s. After the men from Down Under suffered a defeat against India as well, the Afghans only needed to defeat Bangladesh to secure their maiden semi-finals berth, in any format of the World Cup.

It wasn’t a straightforward affair against Bangladesh by any means, with many topsy-turvy moments, especially with intermittent rain interruptions at the venue. Repeated breaks due to rain even forced the officials to reduce the number of overs to 19, with Bangladesh getting a revised score of 114 (DLS) to chase in 19 overs.

Bangladesh needed to chase down the target in 12.1 overs to qualify for the semi-finals themselves but only needed a win to knock out Afghanistan and send Australia through. The game went down the wire, with Litton Das’ gritty half-century keeping Australia in the semi-final race. In the end, however, Bangladesh prevailed by winning the contest by 8 runs (DLS method).

GOING TO THE SEMI-FINALS

Afghanistan defeat Bangladesh in a thriller https://t.co/Jpe4CazJFY#T20WorldCup #AFGvBAN pic.twitter.com/3GLYcoXWtk

— ICC (@ICC) June 25, 2024

Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq, who was named the Player of the Match, said that he and his team had worked all their lives for this day.

“We have worked so hard over the past few years and we were dreaming and working for this day. I’m lost for words. [On his spell] We always knew that they were going hard in the powerplay to chase the total down in 12.1 overs so we knew we were in the game as long as we kept picking wickets. We had confidence that these wickets are not high-scoring wickets. As long as we don’t give easy runs we knew we would have a chance,” he said after the game.

Afghanistan now face South Africa in the semi-finals of the tournament.

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