What a match it was! The perfect example of Afghan brilliance shined the brightest. In the 8th match of the Super Eight stage, Afghanistan locked horns with Australia. In this match, the Afghanistan team displayed their excellence. Australia came to this match with an unbeaten streak. But Afghanistan defeated them by 21 runs. Gulbadin Naib played a match-winning spell in the second innings. Depending on his contribution, he was awarded the Player of the Match award. After that, he reflected on this historic match.
Gulbadin’s Exciting Performance and Reflecting on the Match:
Afghanistan appeared in this match with a defeat in the last match against India. They were hungry for the win as the match was crucial for them. While batting first, they scored 148/6 but nailed the game in the second innings as their bowlers dominated the Australian side. Gulbadin Naib has played a crucial role in the match. He secured 4 crucial wickets by just conceding 20 runs only. He dismissed Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, and Pat Cummins. That bowling attack shattered Australia’s batting lineup.
To win the match, Gulbadin’s spell played a crucial role. For his excellent contribution, he was awarded the Player of the Match award. After that, While reflecting on that, he said, “We were waiting for a long time. Great moment for me, my nation, my people. Big achievement for our cricket. Thanks to our fans for supporting our cricket journey. We worked hard for the last 2 months, and the result is in front of you. The wicket wasn’t easy to bat on, the ball was too bouncy. I took two wickets early on, and carried that on later. Thanks to Rashid for trusting me.”
Praising Team Effort for Scripting History:
This match was crucial for Afghanistan to qualify for the further stages of this tournament. So, they nailed every moment they got against Australia. While batting the first innings, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran gave the perfect start. Both the openers got their half-centuries and built a partnership of 118 runs. In the second innings, Naveen ul Haq bowled exceptionally well by clinching three crucial wickets. Afghanistan displayed a complete team effort and scripted the historic win.
While talking about this, Gulbadin said, “This was a complete team effort. The way Naveen bowled, the way Gurbaz and Ibrahim batted. We beat Australia at last! It is a great achievement for Afghanistan cricket, our history isn’t too much so this is a great achievement.”
Later he added, “We played great cricket in the last World Cup, and this year we beat New Zealand in the group stage. Our journey starts now. We have great management and I’m very fortunate to have this team. Every game is important, we will rest tomorrow and think about it.”
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