Recent combat between Afghanistan National Cricket Team and Australian Men’s Cricket Team in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 was the most thrilling moment for every cricket lover around the globe. The match was held on 22 June 2024 at Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, with all significance from both teams. It meant a top-of-the-table finish in Group B ahead of their final group games and securing a last-four berth. Afghanistan triumphed magnificently against Australia by 21 runs, due to great performances and brilliant strategies. This article presents details of the match, performance by players, and important moments.
Match Overview
| Match Details | Information |
| Venue | Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, St Vincent |
| Toss | Australia, elected to field first |
| Series | ICC Men’s T20 World Cup |
| Season | 2024 |
| Player Of The Match | Gulbadin Naib (Afghanistan) |
| Match Days | 22 June 2024 – night (20-over match) |
| Umpires | Ahsan Raza (Pakistan) |
| DRS Umpire | Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) |
| TV Umpire | Richard Illingworth (England) |
| Reserve Umpire | Nitin Menon (India) |
| Match Referee | Jeff Crowe (New Zealand) |
- Afghanistan made a decent target by scoring 148 runs for 6 wickets. The remarkable innings by Australia’s Glenn Maxwell with 59 runs was controlled tightly by the Afghan bowlers, as Australia was stopped at 127 runs.
Afghanistan Innings
Afghanistan Batting
| Batsman | Runs | Balls | Minutes | 4s | 6s | SR | Out |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz | 60 | 49 | 66 | 4 | 4 | 122.44 | c Warner b Stoinis |
| Ibrahim Zadran | 51 | 48 | 73 | 6 | 0 | 106.25 | c Marsh b Zampa |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 66.66 | b Zampa |
| Karim Janat | 13 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 144.44 | c David b Cummins |
| Rashid Khan | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 | c David b Cummins |
| Mohammad Nabi | 10 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 250.00 | not out |
| Gulbadin Naib | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | c Maxwell b Cummins |
| Nangeyalia Kharote | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | not out |
| Extras | 9 | (b 4, lb 1, w 4) | |||||
| Total | 148 | 20 | 7.40 | 6 wickets |
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran provided the Afghans with an extremely solid opening partnership. The two formed a century stand as it was crucial in setting up a defendable total. Gurbaz made 60 off 49, while Zadran scored 51 off 48.
Australia Bowling
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Economy | 0s | 4s | 6s | WD | NB |
| Ashton Agar | 4 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 4.25 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Hazlewood | 4 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 9.75 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Pat Cummins | 4 | 0 | 28 | 3 | 7.00 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Adam Zampa | 4 | 0 | 28 | 2 | 7.00 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Glenn Maxwell | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 6.00 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Marcus Stoinis | 2 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 9.50 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
- This became an important partnership between the two as the Australian bowlers were struggling to get early breaks. The Afghans, though, lost some late-order wickets, Pat Cummins accounting for two in quick succession, to eventually end their innings at 148.
Australia Innings
Australia Batting (Target: 149 Runs from 20 Overs)
| Batsman | Runs | Balls | Minutes | 4s | 6s | SR | Out |
| Travis Head | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | b Naveen-ul-Haq |
| David Warner | 3 | 8 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 37.50 | c Noor Ahmad b Mohammad Nabi |
| Mitchell Marsh (c) | 12 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 133.33 | c Mohammad Nabi b Naveen-ul-Haq |
| Glenn Maxwell | 59 | 41 | 58 | 6 | 3 | 143.90 | c Noor Ahmad b Gulbadin Naib |
| Marcus Stoinis | 11 | 17 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 64.70 | c †Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Gulbadin Naib |
| Tim David | 2 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 | lbw b Gulbadin Naib |
| Matthew Wade | 5 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 71.42 | c Karim Janat b Rashid Khan |
| Pat Cummins | 3 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 | b Gulbadin Naib |
| Ashton Agar | 2 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 | c Gulbadin Naib b Naveen-ul-Haq |
| Adam Zampa | 9 | 7 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 128.57 | c Mohammad Nabi b Azmatullah Omarzai |
| Josh Hazlewood | 5 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 71.42 | not out |
| Extras | 16 | (b 2, lb 6, nb 1, w 7) | |||||
| Total | 127 | 19.2 | 6.56 | 10 wickets |
- It was a lot of early work for Australia’s chase against the Afghan bowlers. Naveen-ul-Haq came into the attack and got rid of Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh very early into the innings. Maxwell’s innings gave Australia hope as he achieved a half-century in this chase, but the crucial wickets of Gulbadin Naib and Noor Ahmad kept Afghanistan in hopes of a win.
Afghanistan Bowling
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Economy | 0s | 4s | 6s | WD | NB |
| Naveen-ul-Haq | 4 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 5.00 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi | 3 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 7.00 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | 1.2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 7.50 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mohammad Nabi | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1.00 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nangeyalia Kharote | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 13.00 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rashid Khan | 4 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 5.75 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Noor Ahmad | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11.00 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Gulbadin Naib | 4 | 0 | 20 | 4 | 5.00 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
- The turning point came when Maxwell left at 106 for 6 in the 15th over. Naib’s 4 wickets and Naveen’s contribution made sure Australia did not recover from the setbacks. Afghanistan’s perfect bowling and fielding finally gave them a historic victory.
Key Moments
- Gulbadan Naib’s Spell of Winning the Match: Exceptional spell of bowling from Naib, 4-20 in an over to dismiss the Australian side. He utilized the conditions really well to eliminate crucial batsmen like Glenn Maxwell to seal Afghanistan’s win.
- Glenn Maxwell’s Counter-Attack: Even though Australia lost this game, the proactive knock from Maxwell and uncanny shots always kept Australia in the game. His 59 off 41 balls was laced with all sorts of boundaries and sixes to make him one of the best players in a losing cause.
- Naveen-ul-Haq’s Early Breakthroughs: Naveen had given him early success by sending Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh back into the hut. His pace and variation were enough to trouble the Australian batsmen in their chase as Afghanistan got a good start.
Match Impact
This was Afghanistan’s maiden win against Australia in any format and showed how well the team has grown and is hungry to compete. The win has also made their stay in the T20 World Cup stronger and had a telling effect on the dynamics of the tournament.
- Afghanistan’s Strategic Edge
Afghanistan won the match through strategy and utilization of conditions. They turned the lapses of the Australian fielders and favorable conditions of the pitch to their benefit to win against the opponent.
- Australia’s Problems
Australia had problems with their batting and fielding. Although Maxwell tried hard to make many runs for his team, poor selection of shots by Australians and wrong fielding decisions were the reasons for losing the game.
Conclusion
The match was a tantalizing display of T20 cricket between the Afghanistan National Cricket Team vs Australian Men’s Cricket Team Match Scorecard. All-round performance by Afghanistan with bat and ball earned them a memorable victory. For Australia, the defeat marked areas for further improvement as they regroup into future challenges.
FAQs
Ans: The match was held on June 22, 2024.
Ans: Gulbadin Naib was the winner of the Player of the Match for his great bowling spell.
Ans: Afghanistan made 148 for 6 in their 20 overs.
Ans: Glenn Maxwell made 59 runs off 41 balls.
Ans: Most successful bowler was Gulbadin Naib, 4 for 20 runs.
Also read About:
