[Watch] Rahmanullah Gurbaz can't control his emotions after Afghanistan reach semi-finals of 2024 T20 World Cup by beating BangladeshÂ
Afghanistan wicket-keeper batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz became emotional after his side scripted history by reaching the semi-final of a World Cup for the first time. They achieved the feat after beating Bangladesh by eight runs (DLS method) in the final Super 8 match of the 2024 T20 World Cup in St. Vincent.
The Afghan team batted first in the contest after winning the toss and reached 115/5 in 20 overs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz played a key role for his side with the bat by anchoring the innings with a responsible knock of 43 (55) on a tricky pitch.
He had to watch the match from the stands in the second innings after suffering an unfortunate injury during the first over of the chase. Due to a bad bounce from the surface, pacer Naveen ul-Haq's delivery stuck Gurbaz on the knee. The keeper went down in pain and later returned to the pavilion with the physio as he could not recover quickly enough. Mohammad Ishaq replaced him as the substitute keeper for the rest of the match.
Naveen-ul-Haq (4/26) and Rashid Khan (4/23) helped Afghanistan bundle out Bangladesh for 105 in 17.5 overs to secure the win. Rahmanullah Gurbaz could not contain his tears on the sidelines after his team's memorable triumph.
You can watch Gurbaz's emotional reaction to the win in the video below:
"Hard work has paid off and we are really delighted to be where we are" - Naveen-ul-Haq after Afghanistan's win vs Bangladesh in 2024 T20 World Cup
At the post-match presentation, Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq received the Player of the Match award for his splendid four-wicket haul. Reflecting on the win, he said:
"I'm really happy that we have got the job done! We have worked really hard for the last few years to get to this stage. We knew that Bangladesh would go hard up front because they had to win within 12.1 overs to qualify, so, the plan was to mix it up and pick up wickets."
Naveen continued:
"Thankfully, we were able to do just that at regular intervals! These are games that keep on the edge all the time, you don't know what can happen. One boundary, one catch, one wicket and the complexion of the match changes. But these kinds of wickets are not easy for batting, so we were always in it. Hard work has paid off and we are really delighted to be where we are."
Afghanistan will lock horns with South Africa in the first semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup on June 26 at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad.