NEW DELHI:
Afghanistan
secured a monumental 21-run victory against
Australia
in the
T20 World Cup
, a win that rejuvenates their hopes of reaching the semifinals.
Afghanistan’s captain
Rashid Khan
attributed this triumph to the abundance of all-rounders in the team, a crucial factor in their success. This significant victory was a much-needed boost for Afghanistan, as they had missed such glorious moments in the past two years.
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"Massive win for us as a team and as a nation. Great feeling. It's something we missed in the last two years. Really happy with the win and super proud of the guys," Rashid Khan was quoted as saying by PTI during the post-match presentation.
Rashid Khan highlighted how the 140-run target was crucial on such a pitch.
"140 was a good total on this wicket. We didn't finish as well as we should have. Opening partnership gave us the best start. On this wicket, anything 130-plus, we were capable of defending it as long as we kept calm and had the belief. That's the beauty of this team, having all-rounders and having options," Rashid said.
Rashid Khan also lauded the performances of
Gulbadin Naib
and
Mohammad Nabi
, noting their contributions as pivotal to the victory.
"The way Gulbadin bowled today - the experience he has, it came good today. The way Nabi started - the wicket of Warner - was also pleasing to see.
It's so important for us back home and around the world. I'm sure they're proud and would've enjoyed the game," Rashid added.
In this must-win super 8 clash, Afghanistan posted a total of 148 for 6, with openers
Rahmanullah Gurbaz
scoring 60 and Ibrahim Zadran making 51. Despite Australia's efforts to chase the target, it was Gulbadin Naib's impressive bowling performance that made the difference. Naib recorded his career-best figures of 4/20, and Australia were bowled out for 127 in 19.2 overs.
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