‘So close, yet so far’ – Twitter praise Afghanistan as they miss out winning opportunity against Australia in 20-20 World Cup 2022
Rashid Khan, Australia Cricket Team (Image Credit: Twitter)
Australia and Afghanistan locked horns in the Super 12 round of the ongoing 20-20 World Cup 2022 at the Adelaide Oval. The defending needed at least one of these equations to go their way. Number one – They needed to win by at least 185 runs or more to overhaul New Zealand’s Net Run Rate (NRR). This would have meant that they were guaranteed a first-place finish in the point table.
Number Two – They needed to win by at least 50 runs and hope for Sri Lanka to win their game against England. Also, if they batted second, they needed to win the game with more than six overs left. However, neither of the equations went in the Aussie way. After losing the toss, they were asked to bat first. Even though they started alright, the Afghanistan bowlers restricted them to 168/8.
This meant that New Zealand officially qualified for the semis and became the first team to do so. For Australia, Glenn Maxwell (54*) while Mitchell Marsh scored 45. Six batters failed to cross the double-digit mark while David Warner and Marcus Stoinis scored 25 each. In reply, Afghanistan had a decent start as Rahmanullah Gurbaz (30) started explosively.
After his innings ended, Gulbadin Naib and Ibrahim Zadran created a scare of an upset in the home team. However, three wickets in the 14th over changed the game in the favor of the home side. After this, Adelaide Strikers and Afghanistan star, Rashid Khan took the challenge to win the game for his side. However, he could prevent his side from losing the game by four runs.
Australia will now keep an eye on England vs Sri Lanka game
After winning by just four runs, stand-in skipper Matthew Wade said “We’ll stay here and watch that game, hoping for a bit of an upset. We put ourselves in that situation, been trying to chase a bit of run rate but it hasn’t gone our way. Bit slow out of the blocks this tournament, hopefully it doesn’t cost us. [Finch, David fitness?] Yeah, hopeful they’ll be right to go if we make the semis.”
We’ll be following it, we put ourselves in this situation but hopefully SL can do the job for us,” said Glenn Maxwell in the post-match ceremony. Now, Australia needs Sri Lanka to win their last game to reach the semis.
This is how Twitter reacted
So close, yet so far. Afghanistan remain the only team to not win a single match in the Super 12 round. #T20WorldCup
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) November 4, 2022
NRR is out of equation now for England. If they win tomorrow against SL by any margin, they will qualify for the Semis. #T20WorldCup
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) November 4, 2022
Well Played Rashid Khan.
— Avinash Aryan (@AvinashArya09) November 4, 2022
What a wonderful game. Afghanistan lost but the talk was all about them. Loved how the narrative changed from how well Australia could win to whether they could actually win.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) November 4, 2022
https://twitter.com/ACBofficials/status/1588500440743694336?s=20&t=mLYhR7BZ24jnw-MAMYLD3Q
Australia's narrow win means England will qualify at their expense if they beat Sri Lanka tomorrow 🏏 pic.twitter.com/Nn0udjRKcX
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) November 4, 2022
If England beat Sri Lanka England go through
If England lose to Sri Lanka, England are out
If England v Sri Lanka is rained off then Australia go through#T20WorldCup #Cricket pic.twitter.com/AIfFHI1fkA
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) November 4, 2022
Well played Afghanistan, fought till the end. Congratulations to Australia for a good win. But what a fantastic innings by swashbuckling @rashidkhan_19. #AUSvsAFG pic.twitter.com/r418Uj1lLM
— Amit Mishra (@MishiAmit) November 4, 2022
https://twitter.com/FoxCricket/status/1588496725396049921?s=20&t=mLYhR7BZ24jnw-MAMYLD3Q
Love Rashid Khan .. Incredible cricketer .. #ICCT20WorldCup2022
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) November 4, 2022
