Afghanistan Stun Bangladesh in Dramatic Finish, Secure Semi-Final Spot in Kingstown
In a thrilling encounter, Afghanistan defeated Bangladesh by eight runs in a rain-affected match to book their place in the tournament’s semi-finals. After posting a modest total of 115/5, Afghanistan’s bowling attack, led by the impressive Rashid Khan and Naveen-ul-Haq, bundled out Bangladesh for 105, denying them a spot in the knockouts.
“It’s something like a dream for us as a team to be in the semi-final,” Rashid said after the match. “The belief came when we beat New Zealand, and it’s unbelievable. I don’t have any words to describe my feelings.”
Needing to chase down the target in 12.1 overs to qualify, Bangladesh found the task daunting as Afghanistan’s pacers Naveen and Fazalhaq Farooqi reduced them to 23/3 early on. “That made our job easy,” Rashid said. “In T20s, if you start well, that gives us spinners to attack the batters in the middle overs.”
Player of the Match
Naveen, who was named Player of the Match, also played a crucial role, dismissing Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman off successive deliveries after a rain break to swing the match in Afghanistan’s favor. “The margin of error is very small,” Naveen remarked. “As long as we didn’t give away easy runs or bowled easy balls, and picked up wickets, we were in the game.”
The result meant that Bangladesh, as well as Australia, were knocked out of the tournament, while Afghanistan secured a semi-final berth, much to the delight of their fans back home. “It’s all about the way we had started the tournament,” Rashid said. “I feel if you have skills in T20s, you are more effective, and they have given us great starts so far in the competition.”
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