“Really feel for Rashid”- Aussies survive Rashid Khan scare to keep their semi-final hopes alive; sets Twitter ablaze
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Rashid Khan
Australia had to win this match against Afghanistan by a huge margin to keep their semi-final hopes alive. However, they couldn’t restrict the Afghans to a low score, as the latter went on to score 164/7 in their 20 overs, courtesy of Rashid Khan‘s quickfire. As the host won this match by four runs, they are hugely relying on the upsets in Group 1 matches.
Coming to the match, Afghan captain Mohammad Nabi won the toss and opted to field first. Despite a good start, Australia fumbled against the spinners. Only Mitchell Marsh produced 45 runs from 30 balls, while Glenn Maxwell gave a glimpse of his vintage self by smashing a half-century (unbeaten 54 runs off 32 balls). Apart from these two, other destructive batters could score some mere runs; still, they put on 168/8 on the scoreboard, which was defendable.
Afghanistan did not get the desired start as Josh Hazlewood struck in the third over and dismissed Usman Ghani for two runs. Kane Richardson sent the other opener, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, whose quickfire added 30 runs from 17 balls (with two fours and two sixes).
The budding partnership between Ibrahim Zadran and Gulabin Naib was broken by Maxwell’s outstanding fielding. In the 14th over, Adam Zampa bowled a full-length ball in the middle, which Zadran flicked to the deep mid-wicket and called for two; Maxwell picked up the ball and hit the bullseye at the bowler’s end.
Skipper Nabi added just one run before he became a victim of Hazlewood in the 15th over. Zampa dismissed Najibullah Zadran for a duck, while Matthew Wade’s run out sent Darwish Rasooli following 15 runs off 13 balls.
However, Rashid Khan, the spin-wizard, displayed destructive cricket, scoring an unbeaten 48 runs off 23 balls (with three fours and four sixes) at a massive strike rate of 208.7. This man never fails to impress. But his knock wasn’t enough as his team fell short of just four runs.
It was the final chance for the Aussies to force themselves into the semi-final race; England’s win over New Zealand left the host in a tricky situation. The defending champions were relying on victory by a huge margin over Afghanistan, but they failed; now, they’ll be keeping a close eye on upsets in Group 1 matches- that is, Ireland’s defeating New Zealand or Sri Lanka’s defeating England.
Check how Twitter reacted to Australia’s win and Rashid Khan’s heroics
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Gouri Das
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