Afghanistan storms into first World Cup semi-finals; Australia eliminated

Afghanistan 115 for 5 (Gurbaz 43, Rishad 3-26) beaten Bangladesh 105 (Litton 54*, Rashid 4-23, Naveen 4-26) by eight runs via DLS method

Both teams, along with Australia, were in contention for a place in the Super Eight Group 1 semi-finals, and the rain only added to the drama. For most of the last hour, a game of cat and mouse ensued. There were times when Bangladesh edged Afghanistan on the par DLS score, only for the latter to come back to regain the lead by picking up wickets.

The drama after the second interval of rain

Bangladesh had to chase down their initial target of 116 in 12.1 overs to propel Australia and Afghanistan into the semi-final. Their pursuit was delayed by half an hour, due to a 20-minute downpour. A shorter match was therefore disadvantageous for Bangladesh.

However, after the second rain break, Bangladesh sent mixed signals. Litton attacked Naveen but Soumya Sarkar fell in order to do so against Rashid. Towhid Hridoy’s risks against Mohammad Nabi, which included a dropped catch, showed themselves, but he too managed to get rid of Rashid. But as Litton hit Rashid four times – first at mid-off, then just after slip – Bangladesh looked on course to hunt down the target and qualify.

But soon, Mahmudullah’s indecision and Rishad Hossain’s adventure saw them fall to 80 for 7 after 11 overs. That’s when the rain clouds returned to continually hover around the stadium and constantly pictured the DLS scores for the rest of the night.

In the face of mounting pressure, Litton seemingly kept his cool. He had an inglorious 2024 in T20Is, scoring less than 100 runs and his place in the Bangladesh team under scrutiny. But he started with determination and kept alive the hope of leaving the T20 World Cup with a victory. But it wasn’t meant to be.

Naveen’s new ball blasts Bangladesh

Naveen’s first over was costly, with Litton hitting him for a four and a six. Then, Najmul Hossain Shanto bowled one to mid-wicket in his second over. But with deep mid-wicket in place, Naveen again bowled a length ball towards Shanto, who spotted the fielder there. Naveen then squared the next ball just enough to catch Shakib Al Hasan’s leading edge for a return and Bangladesh were 23 for 3.

Afghanistan is stable but slow

One of the methods that has worked for Afghanistan and their first matches in this World Cup is a non-enterprising start. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran stayed true to form, taking very few chances in the powerplay as well as in the first ten overs. They finished the power play 27 for 0 and ten for 58 for 0.

This was the fourth partnership of Gurbaz and Ibrahim, the most pairing in a T20 World Cup. In the first ten overs, there were only 15 attacking shot attempts, that too on a surface that was slowing down and would see dew later.

Rishad leads the pressure in Bangladesh

When Rishad was brought on in the ninth, the wind was blowing diagonally from right to left, in the direction of his natural rotation. He immediately beat Ibrahim’s outside edge and, in his second over, used the offered bounce to catch the leading edge of the same batter at long-on.

Gurbaz then took the attack to Rishad in his third over. He first slapped a cover point to end a spell of 38 legal balls without a four, then used the sweep for another four in the backward square leg region. However, Rishad had the last laugh when Gurbaz went deep in his last over. A few balls later, Gulbadin Naib also misplaced a slice towards cover point. Naib could have escaped but for Sarkar, who sprinted from deep and dived almost near the 30-yard circle. And just like that, Afghanistan surrendered their early advantage to go from 59 for 0 to 89 for 4.

Rachid’s intervention

Rashid came in at 93 for 5 with just 14 balls to play. He faced ten, attempted offensive shots on nine of them and finished on 19 with no outs. He hit three sixes, including two in the last over bowled by Tanzim Hasan Sakib. He generally made good use of the willow, except once when he threw it towards his partner, Karim Janat. It was the last over of the innings and Rashid wanted a second run to keep the strike but Janat denied him. Yet he helped Afghanistan score 22 in the last 14 balls, which helped them reach a total they could contend with, just as the heavens opened at Kingstown.

Afghanistan faced 66 dot balls during their innings, which was the third most by a team with five or fewer wickets lost in the men’s T20I where ball-by-ball records are available with ESPNcricinfo. But that did not come back to haunt Afghanistan, who kept a clean slate by successfully defending their tally in St. Vincent.