New Delhi. Afghanistan created a big upset in the T20 World Cup by defeating Australia. The Afghan team led by Rashid Khan defeated Australia by 21 runs in their second match of Super 8 played in Kingston. With this victory, Afghanistan has kept itself in the race for the semi-finals. After the victory against former champion Australia, Rashid Khan said that even if he stays awake the whole night today because of happiness, he will not have any complaints about it. Rashid remembered the ODI World Cup 2023 last year when Glenn Maxwell snatched victory from his team by scoring a double century. After that defeat, Rashid could not sleep the whole night in Mumbai.
Afghanistan has kept its hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive by defeating Australia (AUS vs AFG) by 21 runs in the Super Eight stage match. With this victory, the team will try to leave behind the bitter memories of Mumbai. In the ODI World Cup 2023 in November, Australia had achieved the target of 292 runs to win after losing seven wickets for 91 runs. In this match, despite being injured, Maxwell played an excellent inning of 201 runs unbeaten in 128 balls with the help of 21 fours and 10 sixes.
‘I won’t be able to sleep today because of happiness’
Rashid Khan said after the upset in the T20 World Cup, ‘I think I will be able to sleep well now. That night I could not sleep properly. The memories of that match will always remain in our minds. Obviously, I could not sleep the whole night that (7th November 2023). Looks like the same will happen today also. I won’t be able to sleep today because of happiness. Today the whole team is happy. He said that the people of the country suffering the brunt of the war will get a chance to celebrate the victory. After Afghanistan’s first win over Australia in any format of international cricket, Rashid said, ‘This is a big win for us as a team, as a nation. This is not just a bilateral game. This is a World Cup match and obviously you are beating the best team in the World Cup. This is a big achievement. His team is the winner of the 2021 World Cup.
Rashid Khan considers big victory over Australia
According to Rashid Khan, ‘Beating a team like this always gives you a lot of energy and does not even let you sleep. I had said earlier that cricket is the only source of bringing smile on the faces of people in Afghanistan. People can celebrate this there. I feel like we are very fortunate that we are giving this happiness to people here in our home. We rarely see such events in our home where they can celebrate and enjoy those moments. This is something that really satisfies me.
Afghanistan has a chance to reach the semi-finals
If the Indian team defeats Australia by a big margin in its next match, then Afghanistan will have a chance to reach the semi-finals. Afghanistan team will face Bangladesh in its last Super 8 match. So far all four teams in this group are in the race for the semi-finals. However, Bangladesh will hope for a miracle.
Tags: Afghanistan Cricket, ICC T20 World Cup, Rashid Khan
FIRST PUBLISHED: June 23, 2024, 16:21 IST
