Kingstown [St Vincent], June 23 (ANI): Following his side’s historic win over Australia in the Super Eights of the T20 World Cup 2024, Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan showered praise on his teammate Gulbadin Naib saying that the all-rounder just used his experience in the game.
Gulbadin Naib was named the Player of the Match after he bagged four wickets and gave 20 runs in his four-over spell at an economy rate of 5.00. He picked up some crucial wickets in the game as he removed Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David and Pat Cummins from the crease.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Rashid said that it was not easy for Gulbadin to bowl in the first inning.
“It wasn’t easy for him to bowl from that end, where that strong wind and a bowler like him, it’s pretty hard. But he just used his experience, and he has been playing for Afghanistan for long. So, I think that experience really help us today and that’s how you keep those big players for the big games and he honestly got the opportunity he delivered,” Rashid said.
The Afghan skipper said that they got an upper hand in the game after the openers played a 118-run partnership in the first inning.
“I think the advantage went to us because we had that perfect 100-run partnership. In a wicket like this, I think it’s always a wicket of 130-140. If you have a good bowling lineup, we have seen a few games before as well,” he added.
Recapping the match, Australia won the toss and decided to bowl against Afghanistan.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (60 runs from 49 balls, 4 fours and 4 sixes) and Ibrahim Zadran (51 runs from 48 balls, 6 fours) led the Afghan batting side and powered them to 148/6 after the end of the 20 overs. Karim Janat (13 runs from 9 balls, 1 six) and Mohammad Nabi (10 runs from 4 balls, 2 fours) also played a crucial role in the death overs of the first inning.
Pat Cummins led the Aussie bowling attack after he picked up three wickets and gave 28 runs in his four-over spell. Adam Zampa also picked up two wickets and 28 runs in his four-over spell.
During the run chase, Glenn Maxwell (59 runs from 41 balls, 6 fours and 3 sixes) was the only standout batter among his Aussie teammates. However, his knock had to come to an end in the 15th over after Gulbadin Naib picked his wicket.
The Aussie batting lineup failed to stand in front of the Afghan bowling attack and collapsed at 127.
Gulbadin Naib led the Afghan bowling attack after he picked up four wickets and 20 runs in his four-over spell at an economy rate of 5.00. His stupendous performance helped Afghanistan clinch a 21-run win over Australia. (ANI)
