Delhi: The Afghanistan cricket team created history in the eighth match of the Super-8 round of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. In a do-or-die match, Afghanistan defeated the Kangaroos. Their bowlers successfully defended 148 runs against Australia. They scored 148 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in 20 overs. For the Afghan team, Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored 60 and Ibrahim Zadran scored 51 runs. Apart from them, other batsmen failed. For the Kangaroos, Pat Cummins took 3 wickets with a hat-trick.

Afghanistan team, chasing the target of 149 runs, gave shocks to Australia in the very first over. Naveen Ul Haq bowled Travis Head, who has become a headache in T20 cricket, for zero and gave a strong start to Afghanistan. Other Afghanistan bowlers took advantage of the start given by Naveen and gave shocks to the Kangaroos at regular intervals. All-rounder Glenn Maxwell kept Australia's hopes alive by scoring a half-century, but Glenn was also out after 9 runs of fifty. After this, the Kangaroos' innings collapsed and Afghanistan won.

All the players contributed to Afghanistan's victory. Gulbadin Naib took the maximum number of 4 wickets from the team in blue jersey. Captain Rashid Khan expressed happiness after this victory of Afghanistan.

He said, “The team was missing this moment for the last 2 years. This is a big victory for us as a country and a team. This is a special feeling, which we were waiting for the last 2 years. I am very happy with this victory and I am proud of my players.”

He further said, “140 runs was a good score on this pitch, but we did not bat as expected. Our opening batsmen started well. We kept the faith. The team has good all-rounders and excellent options. This is the specialty of Afghanistan.”

Australia's playing XI: Mitchell Marsh (captain), David Warner, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wicketkeeper), Pat Cummins, Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa and Josh Hazlewood.

Afghanistan's playing XI: Rashid Khan (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicketkeeper), Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Umarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Nangelia Kharote, Noor Ahmed, Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi.