Australia has beaten Afghanistan in a nail-biting contest by the slimmest of margins. In just 23 balls, Rashid Khan scored 48 off just 23 balls. The team came up four runs short, however. As for Australia, they only cared about qualifying for the semifinals of the World Cup. As the game progressed, the pressure became evident. While they were batting together, Glenn Maxwell, 54(32), and Marcus Stoinis, 25(21), looked like they would make 200 runs.

However, they collapsed because of some brilliant death bowling by Naveen-ul-Haq, who bowled four overs for 21 runs and picked up three wickets. Australia’s bowling innings brought them back into the game at one point after Afghanistan was 101/5 after a substantial partnership between Gulbadin Naib 39(23) and Ibrahim Zaidan 26(33). Rashid’s tonks, however, swung the pendulum again. The Aussies’ chances of making another timid performance have undermined the semifinals. Australia must beat Sri Lanka tomorrow at SCG to qualify, or else that’s it for the defending champions.

Against Australia, Afghanistan had the chance to make T20I history. Naib and Ibrahim Zadran looked like they were playing their game when they formed that partnership. In that over, they slipped up terribly due to the direct hit from Maxwell from deep midwicket and then some ordinary batting. Even though Rashid Khan caused a flutter or two to the hosts with his daredevilry, he couldn’t save the effort with his 23-ball 48.

As Gurbaz started the game off quickly, he looked dangerous. However, the first over of Kane Richardson sent him back to the pavilion. More street smarts and experience would have helped Afghanistan win this. It was a hard-fought game that the Australians maintained until the end to avoid losing. We will be releasing presentations soon.

Mohammad Nabi: The party of Australia will be upset as much as we can. There is a bit of a slow wicket, but we’ll try our best. There is no question that he (Rashid Khan) should go. Hopefully, he performs well on his home turf today. We had a bad tournament. The first game was washed out, followed by two more. Sri Lanka wasn’t a good opponent for us because we didn’t play for ten days. I hope we finish well.

Matthew Wade: We would have probably done the same. Today, we’re trying to increase our Net Run Rate a bit. Finch is out, and so is Tim David. Kane Richardson replaces Starc. Steve Smith and Cameron Green are in. We’ve been in these situations before; it would have been nice if we hadn’t put ourselves in them. It’s a fantastic team (Afghanistan). We need to secure a win first, but if the opportunity arises, we will try to push the pace a bit.

Teams:
Name of 11 players of Australia: Cameron Green, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade(w/c), Pat Cummins, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.

Name of 11 players of Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Usman Ghani, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Darwish Rasooli, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi(c), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Australia Innings:

Australia Team Batting Scorecard Data of T20 World Cup:
1. David Warner- 25(18) – SR (138.89)
2. Cameron Green- 03(02) – SR (150.00)
3. Mitchell Marsh- 45(30)- SR (150.00)
4. Glenn Maxwell- 54(32)- SR-Not Out- (168.75)
5. Marcus Stoinis- 25(21)- SR (119.05)
6. Steven Smith- 04(04)- SR (100.00)
7. Matthew Wade(w/c)- 06(08)- SR (75.00)
8. Pat Cummins- 00(02)- SR (0.00)
9. Kane Richardson- 01(01)- SR (100.00)
10. Adam Zampa- 01(01)- SR-Not Out- (100.00)
Extra Runs: 4 (b 0, lb 2, w 2, nb 0, p 0)
Total Runs: 168 (8 wickets, 20 Over)
Did Not Bat: Josh Hazlewood.

Afghanistan Team Bowler Scorecard Data of T20 World Cup:

Glenn Maxwell:

It was a perfect game for Afghanistan; they struck the ball well. We were under pressure at the start of the powerplay. The first few innings were tight, but then some pretty clean hitting toward the end gave us a bit of a scare. It was nice to make a difference on the field. With their conditions, I knew I wouldn’t have much of an impact on the ball. It’s nice to make an impact. It was slow during the day but held up a bit when taking a spin. The issue was quite tricky to press. By the 12th over, we were trying to make sure we put a total on the board to ensure we had a chance of winning. They bowled well in the last four overs even though we were trying to be aggressive. It was hard for us to escape their plans after they executed them. Maxwell will closely follow the match between England and Sri Lanka as we put ourselves in this position, but hopefully, Sri Lanka will do the job.

Afghanistan Innings:

Afghanistan Team Batting Scorecard Data of T20 World Cup:
1. Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w)- 30(17) – SR (176.47)
2. Usman Ghani- 02(07) – SR (28.57)
3. Ibrahim Zadran- 26(33)- SR (78.79)
4. Najibullah Zadran- 00(02)- SR (0.00)
5. Gulbadin Naib- 39(23)- SR (169.57)
6. Rashid Khan- 48(23)-Not Out- SR (208.70)
7. Darwish Rasooli- 15(13)- SR (115.38)
8. Naveen-ul-Haq- 00(00)-Not Out-SR (0.00)
Extra Runs: 3 (b 0, lb 0, w 3, nb 0, p 0)
Total Runs: 168 (7 wickets, 20 Over)
Did Not Bat: Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Australia Team Bowler Scorecard Data of T20 World Cup:

Rashid Khan: 

The team started the game well, and Farooqi bowled well at the end. Under pressure, we threw away 4 wickets in the middle of the innings after we started well in the powerplay and in the middle. Playing a game and not playing for 10 days is tough. Throughout this tournament, we didn’t gain any momentum. Today’s game was fantastic for us, as we improve every day.

Australia Won By 4 Runs

In a nail-biting match, Australia beat Afghanistan by the slimmest of margins in the 38th Match of the Super 12 Group 1 T20 WC 2022. Rashid Khan’s blistering 48 off only 23 balls at the end set off some fireworks. The team fell four runs short, however. Meanwhile, Australia was focused on qualifying for the semifinals of the World Cup. As the game progressed, the pressure became evident with Glenn Maxwell 54(32) and Marcus Stoinis 25(21) batting together.

They looked like they could run up 200 runs, but they collapsed due to some brilliant death bowling from Naveen-ul-Haq, who bowled four overs for 21 runs and picked up three wickets. After a partnership of 39 (23), Gulbadin Naib and Ibrahim Zaidan generated a significant partnership (26); Australia repurchased itself into the game after Afghanistan had reached 101/5. A few tonks from Rashid swung the pendulum back again. As a result, the Aussies’ chances of making it to the semis are again in jeopardy. Australia will have to beat Sri Lanka at SCG tomorrow to advance. Otherwise, that’s it for the defending champions.

So the equation in this group is pretty straightforward – New Zealand is out. England will be through if they win tomorrow against Sri Lanka. Australia will advance if England loses. The semi-finals will be played if the match is rained out and there is no result. We will leave it here on that note. Don’t miss the Australian specials. From everyone here, it’s goodbye until next time. Thanks a lot!