T20 WC: Afghanistan stun Australia, stay alive in semi-final race
Afghanistan have stunned Australia in the Super 8 Match 48 of the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup. They defended 148 at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown to stay alive in the semi-final race. While Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran slammed fifties, Gulbadin Naib took a four-wicket haul. Glenn Maxwell's 59 and a hat-trick from Pat Cummins went in vain.
Afghanistan post a decent total
Though both openers Gurbaz (60) and Zadran (51) hammered fifties, they couldn't accelerate even after getting settled. The Aussie bowlers bowled brilliantly in the death overs as the Afghan team went from 118/0 to 141/6. While Cummins (3/22) claimed a hat-trick, Adam Zampa (2/28) dismissed two batters. Afghanistan eventually finished at 148/6.
Australia falter in reply
The Aussies were off to a poor start as Naveen-ul-Haq dismissed Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh cheaply with the new ball. David Warner also couldn't contribute much as Australia were reduced to 32/3. Though Maxwell fought alone with a brilliant knock, he did not get the required support. Naib's sensational spell meant the Aussies were folded for 127 in 19.2 overs.
Gurbaz, Zadran accomplish these records
Earlier in the tournament, the two openers added 154 runs against Uganda and 103 runs against New Zealand. As mentioned, they became the first pair to register three century partnerships in a T20 WC edition. Overall, they became the second pair after Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan with three 100-plus stands in the competition's history.
Gurbaz races past 1,600 T20I runs
Gurbaz made 60 off 49 balls (4 fours, 4 sixes). He has raced to 1,614 runs across 61 T20Is at 26.46. In addition to his 10 fifties, he owns a ton (SR: 139.34). Gurbaz has tallied 391 runs across 14 T20 WC games at 27.92. He is the leading run-getter of the ongoing event with 238 runs at 39.67 (50s: 3).
Cummins scripts these records
Cummins became the first bowler to claim successive T20I hat-tricks. While Rashid Khan and Lasith Malinga are the only other full-member team bowlers with two T20I hat-tricks, no other bowler has accomplished the milestone more than once in the T20 WC. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh game saw Cummins become the second Aussie to register a T20 WC hat-trick. He joined Brett Lee (versus Bangladesh, 2007).
Fourth Aussie with this feat
Besides Lee and Cummins, Ashton Agar and Nathan Ellis are the other Australians with T20I hat-tricks. Meanwhile, Cummins, who recorded 3/28 in four overs, has now raced to 66 scalps across 56 T20Is at an economy of 7.36. He has also completed 23 T20 WC wickets across 21 games (ER: 7.62). Nine of his scalps have come in the ongoing edition.
Do you know?
Curtis Campher, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kagiso Rabada, Karthik Meiyappan, and Joshua Little are the others to register a hat-trick in the mega tournament besides Lee and Cummins. Meanwhile, Cummins went wicket-less in his only preceding outing against Afghanistan in T20Is.
