Afghanistan are slowly amassing a respectable total on this pitch. Naveen-ul-Haq has proved himself to be an obstacle for Australia and got rid of Maxwell via slower ball in the powerplay with some effective deliveries.
Gurbaz and Zadran continue their run-scoring exploits on a tough track and have amassed their fifty stand in just 13.2 overs. Here we will discuss the main points of Afghanistan National Cricket Team Vs Australian Men’s Cricket Team Stats.
Afghanistan vs Australia
Afghanistan stunned Australia and won their inaugural match against them across all formats of cricket in a stunning upset. Afghanistan are one of the fastest rising sides in international cricket and continue to impress more experienced opponents with their energy, power hitting, and spin bowlers.
Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first on a pitch that looked ideal for fast bowlers. Unfortunately, although Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran reached fifties, their middle order struggled. Adam Zampa and Pat Cummins performed admirably for Australia by keeping batsmen at bay with accurate line and length bowling.
Australia’s fielding performance fell below par, as multiple catches went begging. Glenn Maxwell battled hard for the visitors and almost reached double figures before Gulbadin Naib made an exceptional catch to derail those ambitions with ease.
At halfway stage, Australia were struggling at 92-3 and an attempt at reaching their target of 147 seemed unachievable. But Steve Smith played an outstanding innings to turn things around, with powerful partnerships between Marnus Labuschagne and Glenn Maxwell helping secure victory for Australia.
Australia were given an extremely tough challenge by Afghanistan, with Glenn Maxwell almost pulling them down with his superb unbeaten 104, but Gulbadin Naib’s spectacular catch sealed victory for Afghanistan against Australia for all forms of cricket.
Afghanistan secured a top-four finish in Group 2, leaving India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to vie for semi-final spots in Group 4. Australia must win both of their remaining matches to advance to the knockout stages.
A wicket occurs when an outswinging bowler dislodges an offending batsman via catch, leg before wicket or obstruction on the field, being hit twice with the same ball or failing to avoid direct hits from bowlers. The fielding team with the highest number of wickets taken over time is declared victorious while any that lose the most wickets are moved down in table rankings.
Afghanistan batting
Afghanistan, one of the lower-ranked teams, has made an enormous impact at this tournament despite being among its lowest ranked teams in history. They currently sit sixth on the points table and stand a great chance of finishing in the top four; however, their next two matches pose major tests; against Pakistan and South Africa who represent formidable opposition if they can defeat these sides, Afghani could have a real shot at taking home the championship crown.
Afghanistan has shown great batting prowess in this tournament. They have scored plenty of runs against some of the top teams such as Australia and New Zealand, showing progress which bodes well for future development; yet some areas need improvement, particularly fielding and bowling.
Gulbadin Naib stood out as Afghanistan’s star bowler during this match. At 33 years old, he posted career-best figures of 4-20 in just four overs, which included taking out Glenn Maxwell – which proved devastatingly effective and set them on their path towards an incredible win!
Afghanistan made an impressive second-half comeback after a slow start and eventually reached 148 for 6 in 20 overs, thanks to an opening partnership of 118 runs between Gurbaz and Zadran that proved patient yet disciplined enough to reach this score.
Australia struggled in the early stages of their innings, yet their top order batsmen performed admirably. Glenn Maxwell almost stole the show from Afghanistan until Noor Ahmad’s brilliant catch ended his hopes for an unbeaten double hundred – eventually Australia capitulated and collapsed to 127 all out in their last over.
Australia has historically dominated its series with Afghanistan; however, Afghan side has made significant strides over time and now stands as a formidable international cricket opponent. Afghanistan still faces many hurdles but their progress so far is encouraging; their progress indicates their potential success; if Afghan can improve both batting and bowling they will prove tough opponents for anyone!
Afghanistan bowling
Afghanistan has enjoyed remarkable progress during a time of great chaos. Yet they are now emerging as one of the powerhouses in world cricket despite this incredible feat, becoming one of the premier global cricket nations. Their astonishing rise is testament to both deep cultural roots and sophisticated domestic structures as well as Afghanistan’s extraordinary potential to become a forceful sporting nation in global sport.
Glenn Maxwell threatened to pull away from Afghanistan like in their previous meeting, but an outstanding catch by Noor Ahmad ended his innings early and ultimately lead them to a 21-run win over Australia.
Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran of Afghanistan have created an outstanding opening stand of 96 runs in 13.2 overs, which holds the record for highest opening stand ever seen at any T20 World Cup tournament. Both batsmen have scored more than 50 runs during the partnership while maintaining their run rate by running between wickets.
Australia have not beaten Afghanistan in 4 ODI matches, yet Arnos Vale provides them with the chance to change this record. While Australia are much stronger than Afghanistan, Afghan players have shown in this tournament they can pose formidable opposition.
Hazlewood begins his spell with some turn and bounce, but Gurbaz (48*) keeps up the run rate by pulling through midwicket for FOUR before smashing behind square for another four runs to put his team firmly in charge of proceedings.
Naib returns with an aggressive leg-spinner which skids on and pegs Omarzai (2) back, before picking off Zampa (9). Naib finished his spell with career-best T20I figures of 4 for 20 and Australia found themselves struggling at 113 for 7.
Afghanistan fielding
Afghanistan openers Gurbaz and Zadran finally found their groove, producing some fine innings before Zampa struck back with two wickets in one over, sending their scores spiralling back down again.
At first he bowled an offbreak that skidded in and pegged back the stumps, followed by some extra bounce to catch Omarzai (2) at midwicket. Furthermore, he got his hand to an airborne cut from Zadran and sent him back for 49.
At the other end, Rashid attempts to go for broke on a short ball but only manages to hit Tim David at long-on with it – thus marking Rashid’s third wicket and ending their opening stand of 85 runs between them.
Afghanistan fielders produced an excellent fielding performance to limit Australia to just 150 points but they couldn’t prevent an easy Australian win. For Afghanistan it was much-needed after losing to India earlier in the day; now they must beat Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in their remaining two matches in order to qualify for semi-finals.
Afghanistan’s young team has had a wonderful tournament so far, stunning more experienced opponents with their energy and skills. If they wish to continue progressing as they wish, however, then it must address any flaws within their game that have hindered progress so far.
Gulbadin Naib continues to impress Afghanistan with the ball, as evidenced by his flawless run-out of Maxwell. Afghanistan have never before won against Australia in T20Is; Naib’s outstanding performance stands as proof.
As the Australian Anthem plays, Naib suddenly collapses at first slip clutching his hamstring and has to be helped off the field by teammates. While in some discomfort, Naib hopes he can still participate in this Super 8 stage’s remaining two games; should this prove possible it will mark an outstanding accomplishment by such a talented team.
