[Watch] How Dwayne Bravo and Afghanistan's bluff got them the final Bangladesh wicket to seal T20 World Cup semifinal spot
Afghanistan's bowling consultant for the T20 World Cup and legendary West Indies pacer, Dwayne Bravo played a small but crucial role in helping them get the final Bangladesh wicket. The wicket sealed Afghanistan's route to their first ever semifinal in an ICC event.
With nine runs needed off eight balls, Bravo realized that he was being shown on the big screen. He subtly gestured towards Fazalhaq Farooqi to go and tell skipper, Rashid Khan, to pepper Mustafizur Rahman with a short-pitched delivery. Farooqi took the cue and told Rashid the plan, with fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq set to bowl the delivery.
The on-air commentator and probably even the Bangladesh batters must have seen the big screen and expected Naveen to bowl a short ball first up to the No. 11 batter. However, it all proved to be a bluff as the pacer bowled a fuller delivery on the stumps and Mustafizur was caught off-guard. The bat just didn't come down in time as the southpaw was trapped in front.
Here's the video of the entire set-up of the bluff, followed by the dismissal:
Australia had earlier lost to India by 24 runs and Afghanistan knew that they had to beat Bangladesh to qualify for the semifinals. The game seemed to be drifting away, but the thrilling finish ensured that it was Afghanistan and not Australia who would face South Africa in Trinidad in the first semifinal on Wednesday, June 26.
Rashid Khan thanks Brian Lara for showing faith in Afghanistan
Among the panel of experts on Star Sports, only former West Indies captain Brian Lara had picked Afghanistan as one of the four semifinalists in his prediction. In the post-match presentation ceremony, Rashid Khan acknowledged Lara and also expressed his emotions after the win. He said:
"The only guy who put us in the semifinals was Brian Lara and we proved him right. When we met him at a welcome party, I told him we won't let you down. It's a dream for us to be in the semifinals. The way we started the tournament, the belief came when we beat New Zealand. It's unbelievable."
Rashid claimed that the thinking going into the semifinals would just be to enjoy the occasion and not get bogged down by how enormous it is for his country's cricketing history. He is delighted to give happiness to the people back in his homeland.