T20 World Cup: Afghanistan marks historic entry into semis, Australia heads home

Australia has been knocked out of the T20 World Cup after Afghanistan scripted history by defeating Bangladesh, at St. Vincent, on June 25, to qualify for the semi-finals for the first time.

Australia was in a difficult spot after it tasted defeat in its match against India, as they had only 2 points in their bag.

India, on June 24, defeated Australia by 24 runs as Afghanistan just needed to beat Bangladesh to secure their qualification. 

As Rashid Khan and his team will now advance towards the clash for the finals, the Men in Yellow will pack their bags and head towards the exit door.

On June 25, Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat first against Bangladesh. Initially, Afghanistan faced difficulty despite having their most successful opening pair, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran who scored 54 runs together in the first 9 overs. 

Even though Gurbaz gave his best to speed the game, Afghanistan's progress was weakened. Rishad Hossain took 3 wickets for 26 runs in his 4 overs. 

While Afghanistan's score dropped from 84 for 2 to 93 for 5, Rashid Khan’s smart play helped Afghanistan reach a good deal after he scored 19 runs off 10 balls with 3 sixes.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh also jumped with a good start as Litton got them going but wickets started to fall at the other end. Naveen got a double-strike but Litton kept on attacking from the other end. 

However, Rashid returned and picked up 4 wickets while Litton looked to take the game close but Naveen returned to dismiss Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman to seal the win in the end.