Watch: Kagiso Rabada picked up a double-wicket maiden over to nearly shatter Afghanistan’s dreams as they were reduced to 28-6 in the semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Afghanistan made the semi-finals of any ICC event for the first time ever after beating Bangladesh in a do-or-die clash in the Super Eight but any hopes of advancing further were thwarted as they lost half their batting line-up for less than 30 runs.
Rashid Khan’s decision after winning the toss and batting first proved disastrous as in-form Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell in the first over for a duck. Gulbadin Naib followed him two overs later and it was only downhill after that as Rabada picked up two wickets in the space of three balls, bowling Ibrahim Zadran and Mohammad Nabi with unplayable deliveries.
While Zadran looked to play the ball with minimal footwork and saw it sneak past his bat-pad gap, Nabi’s was a dream delivery for Rabada. The good-length ball bowled around the off-stump channel nipped back in as Nabi remained rooted in his crease. His off-stump was soon dismantled, as Afghanistan fell to 20-4.
They were eventually bowled out for 56, the lowest team total in the knockouts of the T20 World Cup.
Watch Rabada’s double-wicket maiden here:
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