From 118/0 in the 16th over to finishing at 148/6 – highlights the inexperience of Afghanistan in crunch sitautions and the clutchness of Australia. And it was their clutch God Pat Cummins who starred once again, getting back to back hat-tricks to ensure the innings ended on a dud despite a superb start from the openers. Both Ibrahim Zadran and Gurbaz started off brilliantly on a tricky surface. They took some time in the powerplay but took a few chances later on to register fifties. They ran like Olympic sprinters to steal plenty of doubles as Australia were unusually sloopy on the field. Plenty of misfields and drop chances helped Afghanistan along the way. They were looking good for 170-180 at one point, but the innings fizzled out when both openers were dismissed in the span of 8 balls. Australia would be very pleased with their fightback, but this is a difficult batting surface with some early seam movement and spongy bounce.
Hat-tricks in Men’s T20 World Cups Brett Lee (AUS) vs BAN, Cape Town, 2007 Curtis Campher (IRE) vs NED, Abu Dhabi, 2021 Wanindu Hasaranga (SL) vs SA, Sharjah, 2021 Kagiso Rabada (SA) vs ENG, Sharjah, 2021 Karthik Meiyappan (UAE) vs SL, Geelong, 2022 Joshua Little (IRE) vs NZ, Adelaide, 2022 Pat Cummins (AUS) vs BAN, Antigua, 2024 Pat Cummins (AUS) vs AFG, Kingstown, 2024*
Australia bowlers with hat-tricks in T20Is Brett Lee vs Bangladesh, Cape Town, 2007 Ashton Agar vs South Africa, Johannesburg, 2020 Nathan Ellis vs Bangladesh, Mirpur, 2021 Pat Cummins vs Bangladesh, Antigua, 2024 Pat Cummins vs Afghanistan, Kingstown, 2024*
Most wickets for Australia in a T20 WC edition 14 – Dirk Nannes in 2010 13 – Adam Zampa in 2021 13 – Adam Zampa in 2024* 12 – Stuart Clark in 2007
Two Hat-tricks in T20Is Lasith Malinga (SL) Tim Southee (NZ) Mark Pavlovic (SER) Waseem Abbas (MALTA) Pat Cummins (AUS)
Pat Cummins also becomes the first bowler to take back-to-back hat-tricks in T20Is
Cummins: Yeah, I remembered that one (hattrick). Crazy. Played 100-odd games for Australia, (now) got two in a row. I thought they batted well. But I also thought we restricted the boundaries. They obviously ran well. Overall, decent bowling effort. Not our tidiest day in the field. Happy with the total. Don’t know, it’s uncharacteristic (sloppy fielding). Maybe it was the lights. Didn’t change too much (the pitch). There was spin throughout, and a little bit up and down. Not the flattest wicket in the world, but also not a terrible wicket – there’s runs to be scored out there.
No team has successfully chased a target at this venue in 3 matches this World Cup.
Huge moment for Afghanistan cricket as they takes down the mighty Australia. They came close in Mumbai last year but were denied by the heroics of Maxwell. He threatened to do the same again today, but Gulbadin Naib came to Afghanistan’s rescue as he bowled a match-winning spell of 4/20. The emotions are pouring out on the field and in the stands as well. It was a must-win game for them to stay alive in this tournament and they were well and truly up for it, right from the start when Gurbaz and Zadran negotiated a difficult pitch to put on an opening stand of 118. That set them up for a total of 148 which was very competitive with this pitch suiting their bowling attack. Naveen-ul-Haq provided the perfect start in the powerplay, Maxwell threatened to take it away again but Naib was having none of it as he used the slower balls to devastating effect. It’s a night to remember for Afghanistan and their fans.
This is the first loss for Australia against Afghanistan in 6 international matches.
All four matches at this venue have been won by the team batting first in this World Cup.
Hat-tricks in consecutive international matches Wasim Akram vs Sri Lanka (Tests, 1999) Pat Cummins vs Bangladesh and Afghanistan (T20 WC 2024) Australia’s Jimmy Matthews bagged two hat-tricks in the same Test against South Africa at Old Trafford in 1912.
Gulbadin Naib | Player of the Match: We were waiting for a long time. Great moment for me, my nation, my people. Big achievement for our cricket. Thanks to our fans for supporting our cricket journey. We worked hard for the last 2 months, and the result is in front of you. The wicket wasn’t easy to bat on, the ball was too bouncy. I took two wickets early on, and carried that on later. Thanks to Rashid for trusting me. This was a complete team effort. The way Naveen bowled, the way Gurbaz and Ibrahim batted. We beat Australia at last! It is a great achievement for Afghanistan cricket, our history isn’t too much so this is a great achievement. We played great cricket in the last World Cup, and this year we beat New Zealand in the group stage. Our journey starts now. We have great management and I’m very fortunate to have this team. Every game is important, we will rest tomorrow and think about it.
Marsh: They probably got 20 too many. Lot of teams have bowled first in this tournament. Don’t think it was won or lost at the toss. We had an off night on the field. Wasn’t the easiest of wickets but both teams played on it. As I said, we got outplayed today. We just need to win and there’s no better team to do it against.
Rashid: Massive win for us as a team and as a nation. Great feeling. It’s something we missed in last two years. Really happy with the win and super proud of the guys. Quite important for us that we went back with the same playing XI. We’re reading the opposition bowling lineup and selecting XI accordingly. 140 was a good total on this wicket. We didn’t finish as well as we should have. Opening partnership gave us best start. On this wicket, anything 130-plus, we were capable of defending it as long as we kept calm and had the belief. That’s the beauty of this team, having allrounders and having options. The way Gulbadin bowled today – the experience he has, it came good today. The way Nabi started – the wicket of Warner – was also pleasing to see. It’s so important for us back home and around the world. I’m sure they’re proud and would’ve enjoyed the game.
Australia now face a must-win game against India on Monday, with Afghanistan playing Bangladesh later on the same day. So that’s all from us on what is a historic night for Afghanistan cricket.