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With his 4-20 performance at the Arnos Vale Stadium, where he bowled his four overs without any break, Naib changed the course of the match for Afghanistan.Before taking out Tim David and Marcus Stoinis, he claimed the crucial wicket of Glenn Maxwell for 59 in the 14th over, ending Australia’s chances of winning the match.
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The outcome opens up Group 1 and keeps Afghanistan in the running to advance to the semi-finals. Afghanistan is quite happy about their historic victory as well, having suffered two heartbreaks when playing Australia in previous World Cups.
Afghanistan narrowly lost to Australia in the 2022 T20 World Cup, while in 2023 ODI World Cup their dreams were dashed by a cramping and one-legged Maxwell, who scored an undefeated 200.
“Thank god we at last beat Australia. It’s a great achievement for our cricket in Afghanistan. If you look at history of our cricket, it is not much. Last ten years, we achieved a lot of goals. This is a big achievement.
“We played very good cricket and in the first round we beat New Zealand. Then (to beat) Australia is not easy. They are a world champion team and it is a big achievement for our cricket. We can carry this to the next level. Our journey starts now. We are very lucky to have such a staff and management,” said Naib after the match, according to IANS.
Naib also expressed his gratitude to Rashid Khan, the captain, for once again having faith in his bowling abilities at a pivotal moment in the match. “We were waiting (for this win) for a long time. It’s a great moment not just for me but for my nation and my people.
“(It is a) big achievement for our cricket. I have no words to say but thanks to the fans for supporting our career and cricket journey. It’s a great teamwork, we worked hard for the last two months and the result is in front of you.”
Rashid expressed his happiness that Afghanistan had defeated Australia in the World Cup, calling it a wonderful experience and hoping that their devoted supporters back home would be proud of the team.
“It’s a massive win for us as a team and as a nation. In the World Cup, beating champions is a great feeling. It’s something we missed in last two years – in 2023 World Cup and also in 2022 in Australia where we lacked some runs.
“It is so much important for us home and for everyone and all over the world where Afghans are there. They were badly missing this win. I am sure they would be proud of this and would have enjoyed the game. It is just the beginning for us, big game next and we have all the chances of making the semis.”
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran drove Afghanistan’s batting attack with a stand of 118 runs, but they crumbled towards the conclusion of their innings to finish at 148/6 thanks to another hat-trick from Pat Cummins.
Rashid said that Afghanistan’s eight bowlers made it simple for them to dismiss Australia for 127 in 19.2 overs.
“The thought was although we didn’t finish as well as we would have liked to, but this is how this wicket is. The more important thing was that the opening partnership gave us the best start. That let us get to a total we had in mind.
“We all watched two games before, and on this wicket anything 130-plus we said we were capable of defending. We keep calm and have that belief. The beauty of this team is having too many allrounders gives you options. As a captain, it makes it easy,” he said.
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