Afghanistan's Revenge in T20 World Cup: Victory Over Australia

Once again, Afghanistan did not let history repeat itself by allowing a One Day International (ODI) World Cup scenario to happen in the T20 World Cup. This time, Afghanistan took sweet revenge with a 21-run victory against Australia.

A match between Australia and Afghanistan in the World Cup always brings a different level of excitement. In the ODI World Cup held in India, Afghanistan almost won but eventually lost. Despite taking 7 wickets for 91 runs, Afghanistan was defeated by Maxwell's double century in that match. This time, Maxwell shone again, scoring 59 runs, but it wasn't enough to secure a victory for Australia as it did in the ODI World Cup.

In Saint Vincent, Afghanistan had a great start after opting to bat first. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran formed a 118-run opening partnership. Ibrahim scored 51 runs off 48 balls, while Gurbaz made 60 runs off 49 balls.

However, despite the strong start, the Afghan batters couldn't maintain the momentum towards the end. They managed only 29 runs in the last 5 overs due to Pat Cummins' hat-trick. Cummins achieved his second consecutive hat-trick, the first being against Bangladesh and now again against Afghanistan. As a result, Afghanistan's innings ended at 148 runs.

Chasing a target of 149 runs, Australia faced an early blow when Travis Head was dismissed by Naveen-ul-Haq for zero. In the third over, Naveen struck again to send Marsh back. Shortly after, David Warner was also out, leaving Australia struggling at 32 for 3. Maxwell and Stoinis attempted to stabilize the innings with a 39-run partnership, but Gulbadin Naib broke this crucial stand.

With Gulbadin's impressive bowling, no other significant partnerships could form for Australia. He also dismissed Tim David. Following this, Australia's batting lineup collapsed under the pressure from the Afghan bowlers, and they were bowled out for 127 runs. Afghanistan secured a historic 21-run victory, marking their first international match win against Australia.

Gulbadin Naib was the standout performer for Afghanistan, taking 4 wickets, while Naveen-ul-Haq claimed 3 wickets. Gulbadin was named the Player of the Match for his outstanding performance.