T20 World Cup 2024: 'Big Achievement For Our Cricket' - Gulbadin Naib After Afghanistan Stun Australia

Player of the match Gulbadin Naib has said the victory over Australia on Sunday (June 23) in T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 match, is Afghanistan's "biggest achievement in cricket".

Defending 148, all-rounder Naib (4 for 20) picked up four wickets as Afghanistan bowled out Australia for 127, sealing a stunning 21-run win at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, St Vincent.

Naveen-ul-haq also claimed 3 wickets for 20 runs to give Afghanistan an early advantage after Rahmanullah Gurbaz (60 off 49 balls) and Ibrahim Zadran (51 off 48 balls) shared an important 118-run stand to take the team to a challenging total.

Glenn Maxwell, who had broken Afghan hearts with a match-winning double ton in last year's ODI World Cup, was well on his way to spoil the mood, but the all-rounder's knock was halted at 59 off 41 balls by Naib in the 15th over.

Naib had earlier dismissed Marcus Stoinis and Tim David in quick succession, and the right-arm seamer later returned to castle Pat Cummins, hitting the final nail in Australia's coffin as the lower order was cleanded up in quick time.

Following the match, an ecstatic Naib said that Afghanistan has waited for a long time to beat Australia, and they finally achieved it in a crucial match in the ongoing marquee event.

"We were waiting for a long time. Great moment for me, my nation, my people. Big achievement for our cricket. Thanks to our fans for supporting our cricket journey. We worked hard for the last 2 months, and the result is in front of you," Naib said at the post match presentation.

Only Maxwell, Zadran and Gurbaz were able to score runs on this wicket, which Naib acknowledged was not east to bat as there was a lot of bounce on offer. The player of the match then thanked skipper Rashid Khan for trusting him with the ball.

"The wicket wasn't easy to bat on, the ball was too bouncy. I took two wickets early on, and carried that on later. Thanks to Rashid for trusting me. This was a complete team effort. The way Naveen bowled, the way Gurbaz and Ibrahim batted," Naib added.

Afghanistan had failed to beat Australia from winning positions in 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2022 T20 World Cup. In 2023, Maxwell took Australia from 91 for 7 to chase down 292, while Rashid's late cameo saw the Afghans fall short of a 169-run target by 5 runs in 2022.

After beating them finally, Naib was thrilled and went on to add that this a great achievement of Afghanistan cricket as he also recalled the victory over New Zealand earlier in the group stages.

"We beat Australia at last! It is a great achievement for Afghanistan cricket, our history isn't too much so this is a great achievement. We played great cricket in the last World Cup, and this year we beat New Zealand in the group stage," Naib said.

"Our journey starts now. We have great management and I'm very fortunate to have this team. Every game is important, we will rest tomorrow and think about it."