The Afghanistan cricket team continued their impressive performance in the T20 World Cup 2024 by defeating Bangladesh in a thrilling match to secure a spot in the semi-finals on Tuesday. This marked the first time that Afghanistan reached the semi-finals of an International Cricket Council (ICC) event. Led by Rashid Khan, the team has been causing upsets with wins against New Zealand and Australia. The victory over Bangladesh sealed their semi-final berth and also resulted in Australia’s elimination from the tournament. Following the win, Rashid received a call from Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) June 25, 2024
In a video posted by the Afghanistan Cricket Board on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Muttaqi congratulated Rashid for the team’s remarkable victory. He started the conversation with “Mubarak” and had some special words of praise for Rashid and the Afghanistan team. Afghanistan will now face South Africa in the first T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final on Thursday.
“Reaching the semi-final is like a dream come true for us as a team. Our journey has been incredible since the beginning of the tournament. The belief grew stronger after defeating New Zealand. It’s truly unbelievable,” Rashid Khan expressed.
“I am at a loss for words to describe my emotions. Back home, everyone is ecstatic about this major achievement. The main person who propelled us into the semi-final was Brian Lara, and we proved him right. Before the competition at the welcome party, I assured him, ‘We won’t disappoint you. We will make it through and prove you right.’ I am immensely proud of this team. We initially thought that setting a total of 130-135 on this wicket would be good.”
“We fell short by 15-20 runs. It all came down to our mindset. We anticipated that they would aggressively chase the target in 12 overs to secure a spot in the semi-final. That’s where we had the upper hand. By bowling accurately towards the stumps, we increased our chances of taking wickets. There was no need for anything extraordinary. We just needed to stick to our plans. We put in our best effort, and that’s within our control,” Rashid Khan reflected.
@Cricbun
