T20 World Cup 2024: Afghanistan’s nail biting victory against Australia

KINGSTOWN: In a surprise turn of event, Afghanistan turned the tables on Australia as it thrashes the Kangaroos currently during the Super 8 round (AFG vs AUS).

In the 48th match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, Afghanistan took on giants Australia at the Arnos Vale Stadium in St Vincent.

Entire Afghan team owes this win to Naveen, Naib and Rashid Khan!

Australia needs 24 runs off 7 balls to win. Their current run rate (CRR) is 6.64, while the required run rate (RRR) has bloated to 24 now! No turning back now. Well done Afghan bowlers!

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Zampa’s boundary breathed some life in Australian hopes.

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Australia needs 28 runs off 8 balls to win. Their current run rate (CRR) is 6.32, while the required run rate (RRR) has bloated to 21.3 now! No turning back now. Well done Afghan bowlers!

Australia down to 9 wickets! This is a surprising match! Hazlewood and Zampa now need to channel Shahid Afridi if they want to win. That is nothing short of a miracle!

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Afghanistan now has a winning chance of 99.3 per cent! Meanwhile the formidable Kangaroos are limping about at 0.7 per cent!

Australia needs 34 runs off 13 balls to win. Their current run rate (CRR) is 6.45, while the required run rate (RRR) has risen to 15.7 now! There is no way they can turn around now!

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Hazlewood at the help. Both Zampa and Hazlewood twinning at 1 run off 1 ball. There is still time to turn the tides, Aussies!

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AGAR GONE! ANOTHER AUSTRALIAN BATTER OUT! Afghanistan has done it! It has now a 99 per cent chance of winning the match!

Australia needs 36 runs to win off 16 balls. The CRR has descended to 6.52 as RRR ascend to 13.5! Only a miracle can help Australia win now!

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Zampa and Agar buckling under the iron-fisted bowls of Naib and Rashid, now joined by Naveen-ul-Haq.

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Khan and Naib have restricted Australian batters to 112 at a loss of 8 wickets. This match rivals New Zealand falling to a weaker team in its upset-levels.

Australia needs 37 runs off 19 balls to win. Their current run rate has plummeted to (CRR) is 6.65, while the required run rate (RRR) has risen to 11.7!

This is insane! Afghanistan now has more than 96 per cent chances of winning as another Australian batter falls!

What a match! Excellent bowing Gulbadin Naib!

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From a woeful 26 per cent chance of winning the match to now 81 per cent! Afghan bowlers have given their all, more than making up for the poor performance of the batters.

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Australia needs 38 runs off 23 balls to win. Their current run rate has plummeted to (CRR) is 6.87, while the required run rate (RRR) has risen to 9.91!

Good performance by Afghan bowlers, the divide between runs required by Australia to win against number of balls needed has increased again!

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Australian batters woefully restricted by the iron-fist of Afghan bowlers led by Rashid Khan, their captain.

Australia currently needs 38 runs off 24 balls to win. Their current run rate (CRR) is 6.94, while the required run rate (RRR) to win is 9.5.

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Australia currently needs 40 runs off 26 balls to win. Their current run rate (CRR) is 7.12, while the required run rate (RRR) to win is 8.48.

The captain is bowling now! Rashid Khan has already taken a single wicket while having yielded 21 runs in 3.4 overs.

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The match is now down to Wade and Cummins as they cautiously navigate the threat from Afghan bowlers. Wade has scored 5 runs off 6 balls, while Cummins has scored 2 off 2.

Afghan bowlers have now restricted the Australian batters very well.

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Cummins at the crease. The 31-year-old is now cautious, as he navigates the crease. 2 runs off 2 balls. Not bad!

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MAXWELL OUT!

What a ball!! The biggest threat out! Naib of Afghanistan did it! He has single-handedly raised his team’s chances from 26 per cent to 63 per cent to win!!

What a match! What a blow to Australia!

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Again, it is down to Maxwell as lone figure against Afghan bowlers, as the latter waivers to restrict the score for Australia.

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Despite a valiant effort, Afghanistan is faltering, down to 29 per cent chances of winning. Australia emerges like a phoenix as a lone warrior (Glenn Maxwell) leads the Kangaroos to victory.

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Australia eventually prevailed on to lessen the divide between runs required and balls left. Maxwell is a beast!

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And we are back to the status quo. This is indeed a nail-biter if any. One moment Afghanistan looks to be winning, the other Australia. It’s down to lone man Maxwell against Afghan bowlers to decide the fate of the match now!

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He did it! Maxwell did it! Half-century with that boundary!

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Maxwell still doggedly at the crease, on his way to half-century still but at a snail’s pace now. With now Wade at the crease as well, it’s on him to help Australia win!

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What a comeback from the Afghans! The South Asian team now enjoys 57 per cent chances of winning against the formidable Aussies! Good going!

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Maxwell is determined to lead the Kangaroos to victory. A mere 7 runs shy of a half-century now! (43 runs of 32 balls).

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David at the helm now. The Australia has flicked his bat about to score 2 runs off three balls so far.

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Maxwell is reluctant to yield the bat, to the frustration of Afghan bowlers. The Aussie is doggedly guarding the wickets on the crease, strike after strike.

He has now scored 36 runs off 28 balls.

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Well done Afghanistan! Threat of Stoinis eliminated!

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This is a nail-biter, if any existed! Despite a strong start by Afghan bowlers, they are now buckling under Australian batters’ bat.

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Afghanistan’s chances of winning went down from 55 per cent at one point to now 39 per cent. Valiant efforts but this does not look good for Afghanistan!

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Excellent bowling by Glenn Maxwell. The Aussie batter is currently at the crease, hitting boundary after boundary. He has currently scored 31 runs off 24 balls.

Maxwell is strongly supported buy Stoinis who has scored 11 runs at a loss of 16 balls.

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And Australia has managed to turn the tides. From being steamrolled to rising again like a phoenix, the Kangaroos once again demonstrate why they are formidable!

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Read more: India vs Bangladesh: Men in Blue crush Tigers by 50 runs

Australia won the toss and decided to bowl first. Afghan batters put on a good fight, with the team scoring 148 runs at a loss of 6 wickets in their 20 overs.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored the highest (60) at a loss of 49 balls before he was caught out by David Warner in a ball bowled by Marcus Stoinis.

Not to be left behind, Ibrahim Zadran peaked to a half-century (51) off 48 balls before he was also caught out by Mitchell March by a ball bowled by Adam Zampa.

The other players in Afghan batting lineup struggled to breach the double-digit mark as Karim Janat was caught out by Tim David. He scored merely 13 runs off 9 balls. Mohammad Nabi also scored only 10 off 4 balls before falling to a superb catch by Glen Maxwell.

Pat Cummins was the standout today from the Australian bowling lineup, as he took three wickets while yielding 28 runs. Adam Zampa follows behind with two wickets under his belt. He did concede 28 runs in his allotted four overs.

Read more: Super 8 points table after India defeated Bangladesh

Showing prowess both, with a bat and a bowl, Marcus Stoinis also took a wicket while yielding 19 runs in his allotted two overs.

Australia is set a target of 149 runs by Afghans.