David Warner, who on his last lap as he retires after T20 world cup though as is his wont has kept the door ajar for a possible return in ODI colours for next year’s Champions Trophy “if Australia needed me”, was off strike for a while, and fell off Mohammad Nabi’s first delivery, top-edging a sweep from outside off stump on a track that had showed signs of spin allied with bounce.
It was Stoinis’s fall in the 13th over that then captured Australia’s state of mind. Stoinis, who had biffed a couple in company of a determinedly-bold Maxwell, walked a couple of steps down the track to the mediumpacer Gulbadin Naib. The aggressive intent had the same whiffs as his banter-move with Gurbaz with the ball, but he was duped by a 121-kmph slow bouncer. He froze as the ball reared, couldn’t but stab his hands up as face-shield to pop a catch to who else but Gurbaz, who pouched and roared.
Australia would stagger as Gulbadin would punch the knockout moment in the 15th over by taking out Maxwell. It was a full delivery outside off and Maxwell plunged into his crashing off-drive but spliced this off the outer edge towards backward point where Noor Ahmad contorted his body and swooped forward to grab the match-turning catch. Where Australia had fumbled at such fielding moments, Afghanis were making their fans proud in Kabul and around the mountainous country.
Wade was removed by Rashid Khan who brought himself on to bowl his final over in the 16h to do precisely that. And the gush of anguish that emanated from Pat Cummins’s mouth even before the slower ball from Gulbadin had disarrayed his stumps told the story. He knew he was cooked and had; so was Australia. Befittingly, the veteran Nabi took the final catch to trigger blissful pandemonium in the dugout and back home in Afghanistan. Australia should have lost that World Cup game but they Maxwelled their way to seal the semi-final spot and shove out Afghanistan. Now, Afghanistan have done their bit to try reproduce similar outcomes in the near-future.
It remains to be seen if India deliver that push-out move on Monday or Australia ram their way back to glory but one unforgettable night in the Caribbean left joyful repercussions in the morning as Kabul emptied out onto the streets in celebrations of a historic win. From talks about manipulating results to hanging on dearly to one’s life in the campaign, one week can, sometimes, be a long time in cricket. What will the next week bring: the famous Australian resurgence or …?
Source link : https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/how-afghanistan-upset-australia-t20-world-cup-gurbaz-cummins-9410011/lite/
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Publish date : 2024-06-23 07:54:20
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