When Ashton Agar’s third ball of the match hit the bat of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and flew through empty slip for four byes, it gave the impression of an interesting contest on a pitch that had been the subject of all discussion in the lead-up. , There were two scoring shots off the bat after three overs, one off Josh Hazlewood’s inside edge to Gurbaz, and Australia’s fast bowlers were also taking strange, inconsistent bounces. But Afghanistan’s openers played it brilliantly; He waited and did not panic.
The scoreboard read 11 for 0 in 3.5 overs when Gurbaz took down Pat Cummins for six straight runs. Hazlewood’s next over yielded 12 runs, including another six off Gurbaz, and finally, 40 runs were scored without loss in the powerplay. Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran had brilliant runs between the wickets, the latter being dismissed by Rashid.
Australia’s poor fielding against Scotland cost a team who knew they were safe in the Super Eights. On Saturday, it is possible that their chance for the semi-finals may have been snatched away.
Agar bowled well after being recalled in place of Mitchell Starc to provide another spin option, but he had a day to forget in the field. He hit a four over deep square leg, another over long off, and left a tricky, but catchable, chance in the final over. He was not alone, although no one was going to sit on the spot.
Adam Zampa could be forgiven for his flying effort at deep third when Zadran upper-cut Cummins and the return catch by the same batsman to Stoinis was not an easy one. But Matthew Wade could only stump Gurbaz on 41 and Travis Head reached a running catch, which then slipped out of his hands, although Rashid fell without adding anything.
Warner, who has been in great form in this tournament, was craving strike in the powerplay and took a top-edge sweep off Nabi’s delivery. Australia had 32 runs for 3 wickets. It was surprising to see Afghanistan wait until the sixth over to use spin, it was also surprising to see left-arm spinner Nangeyalia Kharotte, playing his first game in the tournament, bowl the seventh over. , On the fourth ball, Maxwell reverse swept it for four runs and two balls later sent it to deep midwicket for six runs. Rashid’s first over went for only three runs, but cost Noor Ahmed 11. In the over before drinks, Maxwell dismissed Rashid through cover with calculated accuracy.
Naib, who was the eighth bowler, bowled until the 11th over, had already dismissed the in-form Stoinis with a ball that went above the length and caught expert-finisher Tim David with a stump-trimmer. Was made LBW. But one figure is still looming before Afghanistan. Maxwell was playing after scoring 59 runs on 39 balls.
Naib claimed one of the most important wickets of a career spanning three balls in his third over, dating back to the early days of Afghanistan’s development as a cricket nation. As Maxwell often likes to do, he went to slice the ball through backward point but could not stop it and 19-year-old Noor, who was not given a second over, took a brilliant low catch. Maxwell let out a scream of pain. Naib roared and flexed his muscles.
In the next over, Rashid dismissed the last specialist batsman in Wade in two balls. But on the last ball of the over, the last ball of Rashid’s spell, Cummins – the second half of Mumbai’s nightmare – was able to take a run off a misfield from Noor. Rashid expressed his disappointment. Maxwell was not there, but the tension was still there.
Naib had another chance when he dived full length to his left at cover to remove Agar. Afghanistan was one wicket away. Somehow they managed to not have enough fielders in the ring for the last ball of the 19th over, hence giving up a no-ball and a free hit, but it was not to be out of hand.
Two balls into the last over, Zampa edged Azmatullah Umarzai in the air at long-on, with Nabi down, who like Naib had been present from the start. Australia was the 45th team against whom they have won in international cricket, and none would be a better win than this. Bravo celebrated loudly and took the lead in the outfield. The deputy was given a piggy bank out of the field.
Defeat against Australia and Afghanistan’s ODI World Cup is over. Now victory over Bangladesh could be enough for the semi-finals. At least, they will know what they need to do when they play the second match in St. Vincent after the Australia-India match. Another chapter in his historic cricket journey, and there are more to come.
“I think I can sleep better now,” Rasheed said a few minutes after the historic moment. “I couldn’t sleep the whole night (in Mumbai). I feel like I won’t be able to sleep tonight because of happiness.”
Andrew McGlashan is deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo
