Naib powers Afghanistan to Super 8 win over Australia

A tremendous spell of bowling from allrounder Gulbadin Naib (four for 20) inspired Afghanistan to their most famous victory on the international circuit as they got a critical 21-run triumph over Australia at the Arnos Vale Stadium in St Vincent and the Grenadines on June 22 to keep their semifinal hopes alive in the 2024 International Cricket Council Twenty/20 World Cup.

Heading into the Group I Super Eight clash, the significance of the match was straightforward for both teams. A victory would have seen Australia advancing to the semis alongside the unbeaten India. On the flip side, a defeat would have seen Afghanistan's campaign coming to an end after a promising start which saw them winning three consecutive group C matches.

With coach Jonathon Trott at the helm and bowling consultant and former West Indies star Dwayne Bravo orchestrating from behind the boundary rope, the Afghans dug deep and put in a performance which would have put the demons from their 2023 50-over World Cup clash with the Aussies to rest.

On that fateful day at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on November 7, the Afghans had the Australian team dead in the water at 91 for seven as they chased a total of 292. The Ausssies were rescued by allrounder Glenn Maxwell, though, who made a stupendous unbeaten knock of 201 not out to give his team a three-wicket win with 19 balls to spare.

Australia went on to beat India in the final to lift their sixth ODI World Cup crown.

On a tricky surface at Arnos Vale, the Rashid Khan-led Afghanistan team got their revenge.

The Afghans got to a competitive score of 148 for six – thanks largely to the brilliance of the opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz (60 off 49 balls) and Ibrahim Zadran 51 (51 off 48 balls). After being sent in by the Aussies, the opening pair navigated a difficult early phase which saw the ball seaming around and bouncing unpredictably on the surface.

Both Gurbaz and Zadran settled in nicely and they took the score to 64 without loss at the halfway stage, before going on to put on their third 100-run stand in the tourney. In their team's first two matches of the tourney, Gurbaz and Zadran put on 154 and 103 respectively as Afghanistan posted solid totals before dismantling both Uganda and New Zealand with the ball.

Afghanistan didn't have the strongest finish with the bat against Australia as they scored just 39 runs in the last five overs – losing six wickets in the process. Pat Cummins (three for 28) also did the unthinkable by grabbing a hat-trick in successive matches, but his time in the spotlight was fleeting.

There was a buzz and belief about the Afghan team in the field, and they stifled the Aussie lineup – bar Maxwell – to bowl them out for 127 and get their first-ever win against the Australian juggernauts.

In their first three games, Fazalhaq Farooqi emerged as the star for Afghanistan – taking 12 scalps to jump to the top of the tournament's wicket-taking charts. With his steady medium-fast bowling, Naib was the man who proved to be the architect of the Aussie demise.

A pumped up Naveen-ul-Haq (three for 20) got the ball rolling, as he cleaned up Travis Head (duck) with a beauty in his first over, before inducing a false shot from Aussie skipper Mitchell Marsh (12) in his next over. And when veteran Mohammad Nabi got a sweeping David Warner (three) caught at short fine leg with his first ball, the Aussies were in trouble at 32 for three in the sixth over.

The Afghans were then face-to-face with a familiar foe in Maxwell, who put on 39 for the fourth wicket with Marucs Stoinis (11) as the Aussies tried to wrest control. Naib saw the back of Stoinis with a sharp short ball as Australia slipped to 71 for four in the 11th over, and he also trapped Tim David (two) lbw in his next over as the opposition slipped to 85 for five.

With wickets falling rapidly at the other end, Maxwell reinforced his intent when he thumped Naib for six to race to 50 off 35 balls at the end of the 13th over. Naib had the last laugh in his subsequent over, though, as Maxwell was sent back to the pavilion thanks to a stunning catch at backward point by Noor Ahmad which left the Aussies on 106 for six.

The pendulum had well and truly swung Afghanistan's way at that stage.

Matthew Wade (five) was the next man dismissed as the 2021 T20 World Cup champs slipped to 108 for seven in the 16th over as Rashid got in on the act. Cummins was then dramatically bowled by Naib in the next over with the score on 111 for eight – effectively putting the final nail in the Australian coffin.

Ashton Agar was the ninth wicket to fall, and when Adam Zampa was caught on the boundary by Nabi in the final over, Bravo, Trott and the remaining Afghan staff stormed the field to celebrate a colossal win.

The win swung group I wide open, as both Afghanistan and Australia are now on two points each. The Aussies, who have a superior net run rate to Afghanistan, will play India in their final Super Eight game in St Lucia from 10.30 am on June 24.

From 8.30 pm on June 24 at Arnos Vale, the Afghans will play the cellar-placed Bangladesh as they hope to book their first semifinal place at an ICC event.

AFGHANISTAN: 148/6 (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 60, Ibrahim Zadran 51, Karim Janat 13; Pat Cummins 3/28, Adam Zampa 2/28) vs AUSTRALIA 127 from 19.2 overs (Glenn Maxwell 59, Mitchell Marsh 12; Gulbadin Naib 4/20, Naveen-ul-Haq 3/20). Afghanistan won by 21 runs.