Michael Vaughan brutally mocks Pakistan as he names Afghanistan the second-best Asian cricket team
Published - 23 Jun 2024, 05:20 PM | Updated - 24 Aug 2024, 01:43 AM
The Afghanistan national cricket team scripted history by defeating the Australia national cricket team in the Super 8 stages of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024. The Rashid Khan-led team received praise from the cricketing world and experts like former England captain Michael Vaughan for their performance.
Afghanistan took revenge for their ODI World Cup 2023 defeat against Australia with a 21-run victory led by Rashid Khan at the Arnos Vale Ground in St Vincent on Saturday, June 22 (local time). The Afghanistan cricket team boosted their prospects of reaching the semi-finals in the ongoing ICC tournament.
Gulbadin Naib Bags Player Of The Match Award
Afghanistan managed to score 148 runs in their allotted 20 overs on a challenging pitch. Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran scored half-centuries to provide a strong start for the team. However, they collapsed towards the end of their innings against the Australian bowlers in the recent match.
Star Australian pacer Pat Cummins secured his second consecutive hat-trick in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. Cummins finished with three wickets for 28 runs in his four-over quota. Right-arm leg-spinner Adam Zampa picked up two crucial wickets to restrict the opposition team to a par score in the match.
Afghanistan successfully defended their total of 148 runs. The Afghan bowlers dismissed Australia for 127 in 19.2 overs. Glenn Maxwell top-scored with 59 off 41 balls for Australia but received little support from other batsmen. Gulbadin Naib was the standout bowler for Afghanistan, taking four wickets for 20 runs.
Extremely Skillful Set Of Players - Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to praise Afghanistan for their victory over Australia. He highlighted Afghanistan's consistent ability to produce impressive performances. The former cricketer said that Afghanistan has extremely skillful players and commended Rashid Khan's excellent leadership.
"It’s no surprise anymore that Afghanistan produce performances like we have just witnessed .. Extremely skillful set of players & brilliantly led by @rashidkhan_19.." wrote the caption.
When a user commented that Afghanistan is the second-best team in Asia, the 49-year-old agreed, specifically in white-ball cricket.
In white ball cricket yes .. h<!---->t<!---->t<!---->p<!---->s<!---->:<!---->/<!---->/<!---->t<!---->.<!---->c<!---->o<!---->/<!---->K<!---->x<!---->l<!---->c<!---->D<!---->Z<!---->3<!---->J<!---->s<!---->z
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) J<!---->u<!---->n<!---->e<!----> <!---->2<!---->3<!---->,<!----> <!---->2<!---->0<!---->2<!---->4
"In white ball cricket yes .." Vaughan stated.
After the match, Rashid Khan expressed joy in Afghanistan's victory. He said that they did not finish the innings as strongly as desired but credited the openers for providing a solid start. Rashid emphasized the importance of this win for Afghanistan's supporters, stating that they would have enjoyed the game.
Afghanistan will lock horns with Bangladesh in their upcoming Super 8 match at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown on Tuesday, June 25. This match is crucial for them to secure their position in the tournament. Notably, Australia has a better net run rate (NRR) than Afghanistan in the Group 1 table.
Also read: Shakib Al Hasan drills down his own captain Najmul Hossain Shanto after Bangladesh's loss to India
Tagged:
Michael Vaughan Rashid Khan Afghanistan National Cricket Team Australia National Cricket Team ICC T20 World Cup 2024 ICC T20 World Cup
