Afghanistan storm into T20 World Cup semis after low-scoring thriller

Afghanistan booked their spot in the semifinals of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty/20 World Cup in dramatic fashion at the Arnos Vale Stadium in St Vincent in the early hours of June 25, when they got an eight-run victory over Bangladesh via the DLS Method in a rain-affected thriller.

After a quite remarkable win against the 2021 champions Australia at Arnos Vale on June 22, Afghanistan's win over Bangladesh helped them get to the semis of the T20 World Cup for the first time – effectively knocking out the Aussies in the process.

Before the final Super Eight match in Group I, Australia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh were still in contention to advance to the semifinals. Afghanistan needed a win to go through, with the Bangladeshis needing a massive win to boost their net run rate and overtake both Australia and Afghanistan.

A narrow Afghanistan loss would have also worked in Australia's favour, and after the Afghans were reduced to 115 for five at the halfway stage, the fate of the three Group I teams was still very much up in the air.

The impressive Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the leading scorer in the tournament, top-scored with 43 off 55 balls, with Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan blazing an unbeaten 19 off ten balls at the death. It turned out to be a critical innings.

Leg-spinner Rishad Hossain led the Bangladesh attack with figures of three for 26.

In order to qualify for the semis, Bangladesh needed to get the 116-run target in 12.1 overs. However, with a tricky pitch and numerous rain stoppages, the task was never going to be easy against the Afghan attack.

The bad weather added to the drama of the encounter, and the pendulum swung numerous times as the Bangladesh batsmen chanced their hand.

The "Bengal Tigers" slipped to 80 for seven after 11 overs as Rashid tore through the middle order to return figures of four for 23 as he went past 150 wickets in the T20 international format.

With the score on 81 for seven in the 12th over, a rain delay saw the victory target reduced to 114 off 19 overs.

With Bangladesh hopes of getting the target inside 12.1 overs now dashed, opening batsman Liton Das (54 not out off 49 balls) held the key for a consolation win which would have knocked out their Asian rivals.

At the end of the 17th over, Bangladesh pushed their score to 102 for eight – leaving them needing a manageable 12 runs off the last two overs.

In the penultimate over, though, things went haywire for Bangladesh when Man of the Match Naveen-ul-Haq (four for 26) delivered the goods for Afghanistan with the wickets of Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman off consecutive balls to give his team the dramatic eight-run win.

Like their victory over Australia, Afghanistan's win sparked wild scenes as their players and technical staff emptied the dugout and stormed onto the field.

The Afghans finished second behind India in Group I with four points, and will now play South Africa in the first semifinal at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad from 8.30 pm on June 26. Australia (two points) and Bangladesh (zero points) finished third and fourth respectively.

India will tackle defending champions England in the second semifinal in Guyana on June 27.

Summarised scores:

AFGHANISTAN: 115/5 (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 43, Rashid Khan 19 not out, Ibrahim Zadran 18; Rishad Hossain 3/26, Taskin Ahmed 1/12) vs BANGLADESH: 105 from 17.5 overs (Liton Das 54 not out, Towhid Hridoy 14; R Khan 4/23, Naveen-ul-Haq 4/26). Afghanistan won by 8 runs via the DLS Method.