Afghanistan National Cricket Team Vs Bangladesh National Cricket Team Timeline

The ICC T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 clash between Afghanistan and Bangladesh will go down in cricket history as a game-changer. Afghanistan made their first World Cup semi-finals and ousted cricketing giants, Australia, in Kingstown on June 25, 2024. This blog post offers a step-by-step analysis of this incredible game and breaks down the turning points key for determining the result and its impact in the competition. After rain delays, Afghanistan reached their first-ever ICC T20 World Cup semi-final and eliminated Australia while chasing a revised target of 114 runs in 19 overs. Bangladesh was bowled out for 105 runs. Here, we will discuss about Afghanistan National Cricket Team Vs Bangladesh National Cricket Team

Pre-Match Build-Up

As the cricketing world turned its attention to Kingstown, both teams announced their squads:

Afghanistan Squad

Player Name	Role
Rahmanullah Gurbaz	Wicket-keeper, Batsman
Ibrahim Zadran	Batsman
Gulbadin Naib	All-rounder
Azmatullah Omarzai	All-rounder
Mohammad Nabi	All-rounder
Karim Janat	All-rounder
Rashid Khan	Captain, Spin Bowler
Nangeyalia Kharote	Spin Bowler
Noor Ahmad	Spin Bowler
Naveen-ul-Haq	Fast Bowler
Fazalhaq Farooqi	Fast Bowler
Najibullah Zadran	Batsman
Fareed Ahmad Malik	Fast Bowler
Hazratullah Zazai	Batsman
Mohammad Ishaq	Wicket-keeper, Batsman

Bangladesh Squad

Player Name	Role
Litton Das	Wicket-keeper, Batsman
Tanzid Hasan	Batsman
Najmul Hossain Shanto	Captain, Batsman
Towhid Hridoy	Batsman
Shakib Al Hasan	All-rounder
Mahmudullah	All-rounder
Jaker Ali	Wicket-keeper, Batsman
Rishad Hossain	All-rounder
Mahedi Hasan	All-rounder
Tanzim Hasan Sakib	Fast Bowler
Mustafizur Rahman	Fast Bowler
Tanvir Islam	Spin Bowler
Shoriful Islam	Fast Bowler
Taskin Ahmed	Fast Bowler
Soumya Sarkar	All-rounder

The Toss And Captain’s Strategies

Afghanistan won the toss and decided to bat first. Speaking of the toss, captain Rashid Khan said, “On this ground, if we have the option to bat, we will definitely take it. But – looking at the last game win against Australia, we – as a team are confident”.

Afghanistan’s Innings: A Cautionary Beginning

1. Opening Partnership (0-8 overs)

Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran were tested against the new-ball partnership of Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Taskin Ahmed. Both Afghanistani openers lacked the skills of raising the rate, though they scored at a run rate of about six an over on a difficult pitch.

2. Middle Overs (9-15 overs)

Afghanistan reached 80 runs at the end of the 15 over power play. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Azmatullah Omarzai tried hard to increase the speed of the game but failed to do so.

3. Late Collapse and Final Flourish

The Afghans were able to lose four of their wickets in only 12 balls and their innings looked like collapsing. But at the last expense, the captain Rashid Khan joined the party and hit a six from the last ball to take the score to 115/8 in the 20 overs.

Interrupted Rain and DLS Computations

Afghanistan was followed by a heavy rain at the end of their innings, which created debates over over reductions. undefined

• For Afghanistan to progress to the next level, they had to secure a victory by any means.
• As for the second match, Bangladesh was set a target of 116 which they had to make in 12 overs. 1 overs to overtake Australia on net run rate and qualify

Bangladesh’s Chase: A Rollercoaster Ride

Explosive Start

Litton Das started attacking from the very first over hitting Naveen-ul-Haq for a six and a four. One notable fact is that the ball seemed to come onto the bat better in the second half of play following the rain.

Early Setbacks

Bangladesh were at 31/3 after 3. 3 overs when rain stopped play again. Naveen-ul-Haq took two wickets in two balls while Fazalhaq Farooqi got the initial breakthrough.

DLS Calculations

At this stage, Bangladesh were two runs ahead of the DLS par score (29 for 3 after 3. 3 overs). But five overs had to be played to make the match valid.

Resumption and Further Drama

There was no loss of overs and play continued as usual. Five overs later, Bangladesh got ahead of the DLS par score and, thus, kept both teams alive in the competition. Despite having lost five wickets, Bangladesh only required 40 more runs at a time when only three overs were remaining in the power play. in five 1 overs to qualify for the semi-finals.

Rashid Khan’s Impact

The Afghan captain changed the face of the game with two mighty blows of fabulous wicket just in the 11th over with Bangladesh seven wickets down. More excitement was created by another brief rain interruption.

Litton Das’s Resistance

Opener of the Bangladeshi team gave a spirited half-century performance to keep the Bangladeshi side alive. There were three overs to play and Bangladesh had a realistic target of 16 runs to be scored with two wickets to fall.

Final Moments

The match entered the deciding over with Bangladesh needing nine runs of eight balls and one wicket remaining. Naveen-ul-Haq turned out to be the hero of Afghanistan, taking the last two scalps in the 18th over to let Bangladesh go for 105.

Major Achievements and Turning Point Matches

1. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan)

Afghanistan’s total was built on the back of reliable innings from his position at the top of the order in such a difficult situation.

2. Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)

The captain’s late six helped Afghanistan to get some runs and his wickets in middle overs changed the game dynamics in favor of Afghanistan.

3. Litton Das (Bangladesh)

This aggressive 50 plus score kept Bangladesh in the game till the last and gave some hope to his team.

4. Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan)

He took four wickets among them the last two wickets which provided victory to Afghanistan side and he was awarded as the match winner.

5. DLS Factor

The rain interruptions and applying DLS to the game made the chase more suspenseful and challenging for both teams during the entire contest.

Conclusion

The Afghanistan vs Bangladesh T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 match will be remembered as a watershed moment in Afghan cricket history. This game had all the prerequisites of a typical T20 cricket game from the build-up to a climax of the last over. This victory not only put Afghanistan through to the semi-final for the first time but knocked out cricketing powerhouse Australia.

FAQ’s