Support vs Congratulations! Naveen-ul-Haq takes a dig critics with a cryptic post after Afghanistan's first-ever win over Australia

Young Afghanistan fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq shared a cryptic post on Instagram after his team's victory against Australia during the Super Eight match in the T20 World Cup 2024. Naveen-ul-Haq hit back at critics, and his post garnered attention from cricket enthusiasts on social media platforms.

Naveen-ul-Haq was instrumental in Afghanistan's first-ever victory over Australia at the Arnos Vale Ground in St Vincent on Saturday, June 22 (local time). The Rashid Khan-led team kept their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals alive with their first victory in the Super 8 stages of the ongoing ICC tournament.

Naveen provided an early breakthrough for his team while defending 149 on a spin-friendly wicket. The right-arm pacer dismissed opener Travis Head for a duck on the third delivery of the first over. Naveen deceived Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh with a slow delivery in his second over, leaving Australia at 16/2.

The 24-year-old picked up the wicket of Ashton Agar in the 18th over. He ended his bowling quota with three wickets for 20 runs in his four overs. The Mitchell Marsh-led team was bowled out for 127 runs in 19.2 overs. The Australian cricket team suffered their first defeat in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.

Naveen-ul-Haq Shares A Cryptic Post On Instagram

Naveen-ul-Haq took to Instagram to take a dig at critics after his match-winning spell. Naveen shared a collage of two images, one of a person sitting alone in an empty stadium labeled "support" and the other of a packed stadium labeled "congratulations." He captioned the post with a "finger on the lips" emoji.

Naveen Ul Haq's Instagram post. p<!---->i<!---->c<!---->.<!---->t<!---->w<!---->i<!---->t<!---->t<!---->e<!---->r<!---->.<!---->c<!---->o<!---->m<!---->/<!---->e<!---->f<!---->8<!---->W<!---->n<!---->D<!---->d<!---->5<!---->1<!---->p

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) J<!---->u<!---->n<!---->e<!----> <!---->2<!---->3<!---->,<!----> <!---->2<!---->0<!---->2<!---->4

Earlier, Afghanistan posted a total of 148/6 in 20 overs after being asked to bat first. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (60) and Ibrahim Zadran (51) added 118 runs for the first wicket in 15.5 overs. The other batters failed to deliver in the final overs. Pat Cummins picked up his second consecutive hat trick in the World Cup.

They Need That Kind Of Fire Up - Rashid Khan

Speaking after the match, captain Rashid Khan mentioned that some players need motivation to remember how good they are. Rashid stated that the competitive spirit kept the players engaged and focused on scoring runs.

"Well, some guys in the team, they need that kind of fire up. Once they keep silent, they forget how good they are and they need the kind of fire up in the middle. And to be honest, in this game, most happiest thing I have seen was the running between the wicket, between Ibrahim and Gurbaz," Rashid Khan said.

The Rashid Khan-led team will face the Bangladesh team in their next match at the same venue on Monday, June 24 (local time). The Afghan team needs to win their upcoming match to stay in the race for the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Also read: "This didn't age well" - Fans troll Ricky Ponting for his 'Australia will go through this World Cup undefeated' comment