Afghanistan pulled off a magnificient win against Australia by 21 runs to stay alive in the competition at the Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown in St Vincent. (Full Coverage|More Cricket News)
The victory meant that no team from Super 8, Group 1, namely, India, Australia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh have booked their spot in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup.
Mitchell Marsh’s men will meet India in their last and final Super Eight stage fixture against India at Gros Islet in St Lucia, while Afghanistan will lock horns with Bangladesh in their final group game.
Australia, to avoid elimination, will have to beat India and hope for Bangladesh to beat Afghanistan. Rashid Khan and Co will be looking to beat the Tigers and push their case for qualification.
For India, a win against Australia would seal the deal for their semi-final berth, and for Bangladesh, despite the task looking uphill, it is still achievable with a huge win against Afghanistan, with India beating Australia by a good margin.
Coming to the game, Mitchell Marsh won the toss and opted to bowl first. Afghani openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran put on a show with an 118-run stand. The bowlers came back to restrict Afghanistan to just 148.
Coming to the chase, Naveen-ul-Haq started off well with the ball, picking up Travis Head and Marsh. Mohammad Nabi removed David Warner but Glenn Maxwell scored 59 to keep Australia in the hunt. However, Gulbadin Naib spoiled the party with his four-for and hand Afghanistan a 21-run win.
