Afghanistan won the thrilling match by just eight runs to go to the T20 World Cup semi-final for the first time in history. Rashid Khan took four wickets following the second rain break, and Naveen-ul-Haq claimed two. While Bangladesh failed to reach the amended target of 114, Litton Das put up a heroic display with his half-century knock, but he had no help from the other end.Naveen-ul-Haq put Bangladesh on the back foot with a two-wicket over, but then the rain stopped again. Shakib Al Hasan and Najmul Shanto were overcome by him. Tanzid Hasan was dismissed by Fazalhaq Farooqi, who took the first blood. In 3.2 overs, Bangladesh is 31/3. Rain earlier came just after Rashid Khan’s six to close the Afghanistan innings. Thanks to the captain’s late cameo, they were able to score 115/5 in 20 overs. Afghanistan scored just 27 earlier, unable to capitalize on a powerplay. In the crucial match on Tuesday, Afghanistan’s captain Rashid Khan won the toss and chose to bat first against Bangladesh.
The Afghans made the decision to stick with their strategy from their previous game, in which they defeated Australia. Bangladesh has made a few adjustments.
With Bangladesh standing as their final obstacle to securing a position in the round of four versus South Africa, Rashid Khan and company have their sights set on a semi-final berth. Afghanistan now only needs to defeat Bangladesh without worrying about the NRR after Team India’s victory over Australia on Monday night made their job easier. Afghanistan’s lower NRR than Australia’s means they will be eliminated from the T20 World Cup following their defeat.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, is still in the running for the semi-finals despite losing their first two Super 8 matches. However, their task is not an easy one; they need to defeat the Afghan team by 62 runs (after scoring, say, 160) or win in 12.5 overs (chasing 160), in order to move their net run rate (NRR) above that of Australia and Afghanistan.
In their eleven T20I meetings, the two sides have met once. Afghanistan has a slim advantage over the Bangla Tigers, having defeated them six times to five. As for the T20 World Cup, Bangladesh had the upper hand over them because they emerged victorious from their lone match in the major ICC event.
Afghanistan defeated the formidable Australians on Saturday, increasing their prospects of reaching their first-ever World Cup semifinal. With a fierce performance, Rashid and company defeated Australia in an international cricket match for the first time ever.
Having exacted revenge on Australia for their ODI World Cup loss in Mumbai last year, the Afghans will be full of confidence.
They would be optimistic about their chances against a desperate Bangladesh, who appeared content to make it to the Super Eights.
Bangladesh, however, has already abandoned the fight. Despite their extremely slim chances of making it to the semifinals, their confidence has been damaged by consecutive losses to Australia and India.
After this defeat (against India), senior all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan stated on Saturday, “To be honest, I don’t think we have a chance to play the semi-finals anymore.”
Australia’s skipper Mitchell Marsh is counting on Bangladesh to help his team advance to the semifinals following their loss to India.
“It is discouraging. Technically, we still had a chance, but India defeated us today. There are a lot of close calls throughout the 40 overs, in my opinion, but India was the superior team. India were too good for us, but in a run chase such as that, you’re in it if you can keep it at tens for as long as possible. Bangladesh, hurry up!” said Marsh during the post-game remarks.
