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Afghanistan cricket fans in Khost province gathered in huge numbers to celebrate their team's historic victory over Australia in a Super Eight match of the 2024 T20 World Cup. The Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, St Vincent, played host to this clash.
Afghanistan came excruciatingly close to beating Australia in the ODI World Cup last year. However, with his once-in-a-lifetime knock of 201*, Glenn Maxwell singlehandedly helped his side chase down a target of 292.
The Rashid Khan-led side overcame that heart-breaking loss with a brilliant all-round effort to defeat the Australians in the shortest format. The triumph naturally gave immense joy to Afghanistan fans back home, who flocked to the streets in massive numbers to ring in the celebrations.
Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) gave a glimpse of it by sharing a couple of pictures on their X handle. They captioned the post:
"Cricket fans converge in large numbers in Khost province to celebrate #AfghanAtalan's historic win over Australia in the #T20WorldCup."
You can watch the pictures in the post below:
Gulbadin Naib, Naveen-ul-Haq, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz help Afghanistan beat Australia by 21 runs in Super 8 clash of the 2024 T20 World Cup
Afghanistan came into this match on the back of a 47-run loss to India. They needed to win against Australia to remain in the hunt for a semifinal spot. In the crunch game, their opening batters Ibrahim Zadran (51) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (60) set the tone with a brilliant 118-run partnership. Riding on it, Afghanistan eventually scored a respectable total of 148/6.
Gulbadin Naib (4/20) and Naveen-ul-Haq (3/20) then took up the responsibility in the second innings, producing phenomenal spells to stun the Australian batting unit. Despite Glenn Maxwell's fighting knock of 59 (41), Australia were bundled out for 127 in 19.2 overs and lost the match by 21 runs.
Reflecting on the win at the post-match presentation, Player of the Match Gulbadin Naib said:
"Thanks to the Almighty. We waited for a long time. Not just for me, but my nation and our people, it is a big achievement. Thanks to everyone who supported us in this journey. We worked hard in the last two months and the result is in front of you. The wicket wasn't good to bat on. At the start of our innings, the ball was bouncing a lot. Thanks to god that Rashid trusted me."
On the performance of his team, Naib continued:
"It is a team effort. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Naveen-ul-Haq gave us a good start. Thanks to God that we finally beat Australia. If you look at our history, it is not much but we have achieved a lot in the last ten years. Thanks to the management. We are lucky to have this team. We will rest tomorrow and think about the next game after that."
Afghanistan will square off against Bangladesh at the same venue on June 25 in their final Super Eight match.
