Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq and all-rounder Najib Zadran shared a cryptic post after the Afghans triumphed over Australia by 21 runs in the T20 World Cup 2024.
This victory, secured on 23 June, was Afghanistan’s first ever against the 2021 T20 champions and six-time 50-over champions. The win also boosted Afghanistan’s hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.
In his Instagram post, Naveen subtly hinted at his disappointment with the criticism the team had faced in the past. He addressed the harsh discourse from social media and the cricket fraternity during the team’s struggles.
Meanwhile, Najib also did the same on X (formerly Twitter).
Chasing a target of 149 runs, Australia were all out for 127 runs in 19.2 overs. This was the first loss for the Aussies against Afghanistan in six international matches.
Apart from Glenn Maxwell's 59 runs in 41 balls, it was a sorry batting display from Australia as the second highest scorer in the innings were the extras with 16.
Naveen-ul-Haq claimed figures of 3-20 but the star of the show was Gulbadin Naib, who clinched 4-20 and was declared Player of the Match.
Earlier, Australia won the toss and decided to bowl first against Afghanistan.
Batting first, Afghanistan posted 148-6 in their allotted 20 overs courtesy fifties by openers Gurbaz and Zadran.
Gurbaz (60 off 49) and Zadran (51 off 48) become the first-ever pair with three century stands in a T20I series after notching up 118 runs for the first wicket.
Pat Cummins led the charge for Australia at the backend of the innings after picking up another hat-trick. The pacer now has two hat-tricks in two back-to-back games and on both occasions, it was across two different overs.
Cummins dismissed Rashid Khan, Karim Janat and Gulbadin Naib to claim a hat-trick.
Cummins and Zampa claimed three and two wickets, respectively, with both conceding 28 runs in four overs.
