AFG vs BAN highlights - Afghanistan knock out Australia, Bangladesh to make maiden semi-final of T20 World Cup

Jonathan Trott first kicked a bag in the dressing room. He then signaled to Afghanistan to slow the game down. Rashid Khan had his hands on his head at various moments in the chase. Mohammad Nabi had a constant smile on his face.

But the one moment that encapsulated the emotionally-charged night in Kingstown was Naveen-ul-Haq running off after trapping Mustafizur Rahman, the last man, lbw. That sealed Afghanistan’s maiden spot in the semi-final of any men’s senior World Cup.

In a match that was start-stop owing to multiple rain interventions, Afghanistan – led by four-fors from Naveen and Rashid Khan – edged out Bangladesh by a mere eight runs and in the process, also knocked Australia out of the T20 World Cup 2024.

Three teams were in contention for one semi-final spot from Group 1 of Super Eight, and the rain only added to the drama. For the best part of the last hour, a cat-and-mouse game went on, with Bangladesh edging Afghanistan out on the DLS par scores, only for the latter to come back to snatch back the advantage.

Litton Das, with a best of 36 before Monday, stayed through it all, but couldn’t take Bangladesh over the line with his first fifty of the tournament. Rashid and Co. danced their hearts out after knocking two teams with a single blow, and the celebrations are likely to go on for longer.

Naveen strikes at a crucial time. The rain is just starting to get heavier. He dropped a tough caught and bowled chance of Litton a ball earlier. Goes around the ball and bowls a fullish ball outside off, that Taskin chops on.

Naib is brought on. Bangladesh are ahead of DLS par of 88 after 14 overs with 91 for 7. Moments earlier he clutched his hamstring and went down, perhaps in a bid to slow the game down.

But he delivers on his second ball. Bowls a back-of-a-length ball outside off, than Tanzim can only slice to cover. Bangladesh are now 92 for 8, with DLS par shooting up to 96

Bangladesh's new target is 114 in 19 overs. They need 32 more to win and knock Afghanistan out. This rules Bangladesh out of contention.

Bangladesh were inching ahead. But they were not. It seemed like a puzzling approach. They took just four runs in the tenth over and then three singles in the first four balls of the 11th. Were they going for the chase inside 12.1 overs to make the semi-final? Or were they playing on to just win and go home, denying Afghanistan a qualification chance?

Mahmudullah then went for a half-hearted swipe across the line to Rashid on the fifth ball of the 11th over. Nobody was convinced of the feather than Mohammad Ishaq, the substitute wicketkeeper for Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who walked out after copping a blow on the knee. Rashid was not convinced either but he opted for the review at the last second. Afghanistan were right.

And on the next ball, Rishad went for an ugly slog and was clean bowled.

BAN 81 for 7 after 11.4 overs when rain comes pelting down. The DLS par score for Bangladesh at this stage is 83 for 7. Quite hilariously, Trott was seen signalling Afghanistan players to slow down the game, and immediately, Naib, standing at slip, clutched the back of his leg and went down. And then, the players were forced off for rain.

They are well ahead as per DLS calculations (63 for 5). But they need a possible 39 off 13 balls to make the semi-final from here

With qualification thread hanging up a thread for both these sides - apart from Australia - every ball seems like an event. Nabi created a chance in the eighth over, when Hridoy swiped across and got a top edge. But Faroori couldn't hang on after running back from short fine leg. Pommie Mbangwa on air said that the wind made it tough for him.

And then Hridoy again went for the swipe across the line and got a thick outside edge. This time, Noor gave chase from short third, and his knee got stuck in the wet outfield as he tried to slide to field that. And then Hridoy finally connected his slog sweep to earn a four off the middle of the bat.

And then Rashid managed to see the back of Hridoy, who slog-swept one straight to deep midwicket. But Litton has chosen to come to the run party, carting Rashid for fours off successive balls. He managed to get under one flighted delivery and smack it over mid-off, and then cut one just past slip.

The downside to being a spinner in rainy conditions is well-known. Wet ball, hard to grip, a little less turn. But one of the upsides is that, especially in the West Indies, surfaces can tend to become skiddier. Which is what helped Rashid dismiss Sarkar. He landed one on a length around leg, which Sarkar shaped to slog. But it skid under his bat to make a mess of the stumps.

Despite a couple of rain intervals, and the ball rolling onto the wet outfield, Nabi managed to find enough purchase from the surface, turning a couple past the outside edge. He gave away just three in the last over of the powerplay. This was after Naveen's third over, the fifth of the chase, went for seven.

Now that the five-over mark has been achieved, we now have a game on. Bangladesh ahead at this stage will have Australia breathing easy.

Another 20-minute delay due to rain. But no overs lost just yet. Another interval, thought, will start reducing overs.

It is pouring in Kingstown now and the covers are quickly in place. The players are off again. Not looking great for Bangladesh from multiple angles. Remember, a washout will only help Afghanistan.

In an interview that the broadcaster ran just before this match, Naveen said that he asked Rashid to give him the new ball against Australia. He said he had never gone to any captain to ask for the ball but did so that day and delivered the telling blow - removing Travis Head with a peach.

And that could have meant Rashid giving Naveen the first over even today. Who knows. The opening over did not go to plan, and on the first ball of his second over, he also burned a review. And then Shanto heaved a length ball over midwicket on the second ball of the over.

But Afghanistan then brought in a deep midwicket in place, and Naveen asked Shanto to repeat the stroke by bowling a length ball that angled in to him. He did so and picked out the lone man in the deep.

On the very next ball, Naveen had Shakib pop back a catch via the leading edge. He timed his jump well to take it on the second attempt to massively dent Bangladesh's chase.

It was banana swing pro max. Farooqi landed it on a good length area outside off. Well outside off, in fact. It swung in sharply and past Tanzid's bat in his attempt to mow it across. He got hit high on the back leg and opted for the DRS more in hope. However, the on-field decision was out and the Hawk-Eye returned three reds.

Farooqi is now the leading wicket-taker of this T20 World Cup.

Litton's position in the Bangladesh T20I setup has been under the scanner for a while now. He's been woefully out of form and has been striking at under 100 in T20Is in 2024. He has three scores under 20 and a best of 36 in this T20 World Cup.

But there are early signs of him wanting to take the attack to the opposition, paying scant attention to his scores. He goes for a wild hoick on the second ball he faces, and gets a thick outside edge over short third. Then he moves across to an inswinging delivery from Naveen to tonk it miles over midwicket. Positive signs for starters.

The rain that came towards the end of Afghanistan's innings has delayed the start of the run-chase. We have lost almost 40 minutes, but no overs are reduced. Bangladesh will heave a sigh of relief.

A lot riding for all of Australia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh on this. Add rain to the mix, none of them are sitting easy. Let's get to some revised scenarios, courtesy some number crunching by S Rajesh.

Bangladesh need to chase this down in 12.1 overs, can take it to 12.3 if they end up scoring 119 and up to 12.5 if they can hit a six after getting to 115 and score 121. The rain was quite heavy, and a washout will mean Afghanistan, with one more point in their kitty, will go through.

If it is a 15-over contest, Bangladesh will have to get 94 in 7.2 overs. If it is a 10-over game, Bangladesh will have to get 67 in 2.2 overs. In case it comes down to a five-over shootout - which at this stage is very far - then Bangladesh will have no chance of going through. So the shorter the game, the tougher it is for Bangladesh.

Rashid Khan faced all of 10 balls in the innings. He attempted an attacking shot to nine of those. He ended up scoring 19. He hit three sixes, two of them in the last over bowled by Tanzim. The 20th over went for 15, becoming the most expensive over of the innings.

It also featured an angry Rashid throwing his bat in Janat's direction, after he refused a second on the third ball of the over. As a result, Afghanistan have a total they can fight with. They scored 27 for 3 in the last four overs. And just after Rashid hit the six off the last ball, the heavens opened up.

Batting was not the easiest, yes, but Bangladesh bowled superbly. The change of pace worked wonders for Mustafizur. Spinners Rishad and Shakib also found purchase on the surface. Afghanistan have more variety in their bowling arsenal, but will it be enough to contain Bangladesh?

Mustafizur bowled four balls to Rashid in the penultimate over. Rashid did all he could - moved to the off side to explore leg, moved to leg to give himself room - but couldn't get bat to it.

Bangladesh finally managed to see the back of Gurbaz, for 43 off 55 balls featuring only 13 attacking attempts. He looked to go inside out over cover with the spin but found sweeper cover. Two balls later, Sarkar pulled off a stunning catch running in from deep cover, diving forward full-length almost near the 30m circle. Naib looked to go big this time but only ended up skying the slice.

A huge mix-up between Gurbaz and Omarzai. Gurbaz cuts one off Mustafizur towards backward point and sets off, ball-watching. Omarzai responds and is almost towards him when Gurbaz cancels the run. Both the batters scurry to be at the striker's end but the fielder misses the shy at that end.

Now there's noone backing up before deep square leg. Meanwhile, both Omarzai and Gurbaz start charging towards the bowler's end, before Gurbaz shouts and stops Omarzai from doing so. As a result, Afghanistan get a run and Bangladesh a missed opportunity.

On the very next ball, though, Omarzai toe-ends a cut behind to Litton. So, Bangladesh finally have a wicket they should have had a ball before.

13 runs came off the 14th over, the most expensive one of the innings so far. Rishad almost had another wicket, if not for the wind. Omarzai ended up slicing one off the first ball towards cover. But because of the breeze blowing across, it did not carry to sweeper cover, who sprinted in. And then Gurbaz managed to cut one through backward point and short third before nailing the sweep off the final ball.

On the first ball of the next over, Shakib couldn't time his jump to dismiss Omarzai, who pushed one hard back at him, caught and bowled.

The surface was meant to slow down. And it is also aiding some seam and swing. Bangladesh have managed to snatch a chance to slow Afghanistan down. After Rishad struck to remove Zadran, Taskin bowled a maiden over to Gurbaz. And then Shakib bowled a tight over to give away just three singles to Gurbaz and Omarzai.

Rishad Hossain, ladies and gents. Immediately found some grip and turn in his first over. Some bounce, too, that beat Zadran's bat in his first over.

In his second over, the 11th of the innings, Rishad strikes. He tosses one up, and this time, with time slowly ticking by, Zadran feels the need to take the aerial route. Looks to go inside out over covers. But because of the bounce, Zadran gets it a tad higher on the bat despite the ball pitching further than good length. Add to it that he hit it against the breeze. It meant Tanzim had enough time to run around from long-off and pouch it.

Ten-over mark. Afghanistan steady again, without loss again.

Afghanistan's ten-over scores in T20 World Cup 2024:

58 for 0 tonight vs Bangladesh (match result: awaited)
64 for 0 vs Australia (won)
66 for 3 vs india (lost)
66 for 5 vs West Indies (lost)
59 for 3 vs PNG (won)
55 for 0 vs New Zealand (won)
102 for 0 vs Uganda (won)

Gurbaz now has the most runs for Afghanistan in T20 World Cups, going past Mohammad Shahzad. After a sedate powerplay which they finished 27 for 0, Gurbaz led the change in gears for Afghanistan.

Against Shakib, he danced down to smack him straight into the sightscreen for the first six of the match. 20 runs have come off the two overs immediately following the powerplay.

True to pattern, Gurbaz and Zadran have not been explosive at the start. They have run the singles well, but there have been a lot of play and misses, with both Tanzim Hasan and Taskin Ahmed getting enough swing with the new ball.

Shakib Al Hasan almost did it after Zadran crashed one off the back foot straight to short cover. However, Towhid Hridoy leapt and could not hang on.

Most runs by an opening pair in T20 World Cup 2024?

There is a daylight between Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz-Ibrahim Zadran and the others. They have three century stands in this competition alone, which is more than any other pair for any wicket in a series in men's T20I cricket. On the outset, their methods have been quite simple.

Take your time. Take stock of the conditions. Go steady but don't throw away your wicket. And then let the others capitalise. In each of their three hundred-run partnerships, Afghanistan's ten-over scores were 102 for 0 vs Uganda, 55 for 0 vs New Zealand and 64 for 0 vs Australia. And on each of those occasions, the middle order couldn't contribute much with Afghanistan sliding to 29 for 5, 55 for 6 and 30 for 6.

Can Bangladesh separate the opening pair early?

Looking at the surface and conditions, Rashid Khan says Afghanistan want to bat first. They have resisted temptation to bring in an experienced Najibullah Zadran, instead persisting with the inexperienced Nangeyalia Kharote, who bowls left-arm spin and can bat, too.

Najmul Hossain Shanto said that Bangladesh wanted to bowl first anyway. So both teams happy. They have brought back Taskin Ahmed and Soumya Sarkar instead of Jaker Ali and Mahedi Hasan.

Pommie Mbangwa looks at the playing surface and reckons it could get harder to bat as the game goes on. He opines that the key batting first would be not to aim too high. Afghanistan have been smart this tournament batting first, with their openers often setting the tone. And Bangladesh's batting has massively underperformed in this T20 World Cup.

Afghanistan: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Azmatullah Omarzai, 4 Karim Janat, 5 Rashid Khan (capt), 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Gulbadin Naib, 8 Nangeyalia Kharote, 9 Noor Ahmad, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi

Bangladesh: 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Litton Das (wk), 3 Najmul Hosain Shanto (capt), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Soumya Sarkar, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Tanzim Hasan, 11 Mustafizur Rahman