Afghanistan caused one of the biggest upsets in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and probably in all of cricket when they defeated Australia by 21 runs in their Super 8 match in Kingstown. Australia who have been the most dominant team over the past few years in all tournaments, winning the World Test Championship and the ICC ODI World Cup, they are in the hunt to become the first team to hold all major international trophies together. Afghanistan have just caused a massive road block in that path as if Afghanistan were to win against Bangladesh and Australia lose against India then Australia would be eliminated. There is also the case that if Afghanistan and Australia get tied on four points it could come down to net run rate.
After Afghanistan defeated Australia, social media platforms such as X and Instagram were flooded with best wishes and support for the Afghanistan cricket team and their captain Rashid Khan. Praises were showered on the Afghani players from cricket fans around the world.
These boys defeated the 6 time world champions. Take a bow, huge respect for the Afghanistan cricket team. ❤️#AFGvsAUS pic.twitter.com/JsDcHMaSE5
— Prayag (@theprayagtiwari) June 23, 2024
The Afghani players were massively overjoyed after getting the win against Australia in their Super 8 clash. Gulabadin Naid, who was the star bowler of the match as he picked up four wickets said this after the match, "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. 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. We played great cricket in the last World Cup, and this year we beat New Zealand in the group stage."