Jubilation and excitement spread across Afghanistan after the Afghanistan national cricket team achieved a historic feat by reaching the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup for the first time.
The win sparked waves of celebration across Afghanistan, with fans taking to the streets in droves, waving flags and dancing, and their joy spreading across social media.
The incredible moment came after a closely fought eight-run victory over Bangladesh in a DLS match on June 25. In that win, Afghanistan also beat Australia, one of the top semi-final favourites.
Check out the video below:
Here's a video of cricket fans in Paktia province celebrating their team's victory. The video has been viewed 110.5K times. People can be heard cheering, whistling and shouting.
A photo shared by the Afghanistan Cricket Board, showing huge crowds celebrating in the streets, has been viewed 1.7 million times.
In response, one user wrote, “I wonder how the crowd will react if Afghanistan beats South Africa and makes it to the finals,” while a second user commented, “Congratulations,” while a third user commented, “Amazing. Congratulations again.”
Led by star player Rashid Khan, the Afghanistan team performed brilliantly throughout the tournament, not only beating Bangladesh but also other powerhouses like New Zealand and Australia.
In the match against Bangladesh, Afghanistan elected to bat first. Bangladesh restricted Afghanistan to just 115 runs, but despite this and a series of rain interruptions, Afghanistan's bowlers, particularly Rashid Khan and Naveen-ul-Haq, turned the tide of the match. Rashid took 4 wickets for 23 and Naveen 4 wickets for 26, as well as the last two wickets, sealing a dramatic victory for Afghanistan.
Morale-boosted after two big wins, the Afghanistan cricket team is all set for the next big match when they take on South Africa in the semi-final at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tharoorba, Trinidad on June 26 (June 27 in India).
The second semi-final will be played between India and England at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on 27 June (8pm Indian Standard Time).
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First uploaded on: June 26, 2024 10:52 IST
