Afghanistan VS Bangladesh Review

Fairytales are not unheard of in cricket. But what happened on 25th June was no doubt one of the greatest stories in T20 cricket. Afghanistan cricket team won their final Super 8 game against Bangladesh to qualify for the semi finals for the first time in history. Rashid Khan's men showed great determination and skill to make it through after Australia lost to India, which gave them the perfect opportunity to create history.

Batting first, the successful pair of Zadran and Gurbaz got them to a good start. On a difficult surface, they showed patience and resilience. But the Bangladeshi bowlers bowled very well to keep the batters in check. Rishad Hossain came to the party with 3 big wickets, which included the openers, which was backed up by tight bowling by Mustafizur and Shakib. Despite captain Rashid hitting 3 sixes in his 19, Afghanistan only managed 115 in 20 overs. But with the quality of bowling that they had, the confidence did not dwindle even a little.

Bangladesh started the chase well, with Litton Das scoring a brave fifty, which would ensure that the Bangla tigers were always in the hunt. But wickets kept on falling at the other end. Skipper Rashid Khan showed everyone why he is one of the best players in the world, by taking 4 crucial wickets for only 23 runs. This drove inspiration in Naveen-Ul-Haq, who also took 4 wickets. On a very tough surface, Afghanistan knew that they had a good chance and they kept taking wickets to stay afloat. Despite the half centurion Litton Das staying unbeaten, Bangladesh fell short by 8 runs, in a rain curtailed match which went from one end to another... ending in their third defeat in the super 8s. This victory meant that the Afghan boys knocked out the Australians out of the World Cup and on a flight back home.

If anyone in the 21st century wanted to go back and relive the magic of India in the 1983 World Cup, seeing Afghanistan shine in this World Cup will no doubt give them the same spine tingling sensation. From being the underdogs to a rising force in World Cricket, The Afghans have stunned the World with their performances. The four semi-finalists are England, India, South Africa and Afghanistan. India will now take on England in Guyana on 27th June in the second semi-final, and Afghanistan will play the Proteas in Trinidad on the same day at 06:00 IST. India will want to get payback on England for the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final where they lost to the English by 10 wickets. Whereas Afghanistan would want to beat South Africa to get one step closer to the ultimate victory. Two sub continent sides in the semis is good news for Asian cricket supporters.