Afghanistan sealed their maiden semi-final berth in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup as they beat Bangladesh by eight runs on the DLS method in a low-scoring thriller at Arnos Vale Ground in St Vincent on Monday, June 24 (local time). Afghanistan’s win meant that Australia were knocked out for the second consecutive time in the T20 World Cup since their championship run in 2021. Afghanistan who advanced to Super 8 with three wins in four matches in Group C, beat New Zealand and Australia on their way to a historic semis qualification in the T20 World Cup.
Afghanistan would have felt that the semi-final spot was theirs last time around in the ODI World Cup in 2023 but they missed out on it because of a madman, Glenn Maxwell. However, when the push came to shove, Afghanistan made sure that they beat Australia first and prevailed in a humdinger against the Bangla Tigers who failed to win a single match in the Super 8s.
Before the match, Australia, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, all three had a chance to go through. Afghanistan just needed to win while Australia depended on Bangladesh, who had to chase down 116 runs in 12.1 overs. To their credit, Bangladesh bowled superbly to restrict Afghanistan to just 115. The Afghans with a little cameo from Rashid Khan of 19* off 10 did get a little away there but Bangladesh would have fancied their chances to get through.
