BAN vs AFG | Afghanistan seal historic semis spot with dramatic win in one of World Cup’s greatest hits

Opting to bat first, Afghanistan found the going tough on a sticky deck offering significant movement off the surface as well as in the air. Bangladesh’s new ball pacers utilized these advantages brilliantly, employing Test match lengths to restrict the Afghans to a paltry 27/0 in the powerplay. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran upped the ante slightly thereafter to take runs tally up to 57 at the halfway stage but it was not enough to keep the latter from holing out under pressure off Rishad Hossain. A maiden 12th over by Taskin Ahmed further tightened the stranglehold and an Afghan implosion soon followed. Four wickets fell in 12 deliveries, including the key scalp of Gurbaz for 43, to leave the side reeling at 93/5 with 20 balls remaining. Eventually, skipper Rashid Khan assumed responsibility himself and delivered three stunning maximums to propel the score up to a competitive 115/5.

Needing to chase down the score in 12.1 for a semi-final spot, Bangladesh came out all guns blazing, managing 13 runs in the first over. However, things quickly fell apart as three wickets in a rain-marred two overs whittled them down to 24/3. Another brief spell of showers followed, setting up the stage for some Rashid heroics. Bangladesh had grasped some momentum with a couple of good overs when the Afghan skipper ripped apart the Tigers’ hopes of qualifications with four wickets in three overs. However, more work was still to be done with Litton Das still at the crease as more rain curtailed the target to 114 in 19 overs. The Bangladesh opener soon brought up a 41-ball half-century with a sweep for four but Naveen-ul-Haq hammered the final nail with back-to-back wickets in the penultimate over to seal a eight-run win.

If you know you know?🤣🤣🤣🤣

Afghanistan Coach: We are ahead on the DL Method and we need to slow the game as rain is almost here 
Gulbadin Naib: I’ll do it and win Oscar this year pic.twitter.com/SV5lxjiwAc

— Sumit Behal (@sumitkbehal) June 25, 2024