Afghanistan young opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz made a compelling statement amid the dressing room celebrations after the T20 World Cup Super 8 victory against Australia in Kingstown. The right-handed batter took pride at completing the revenge of the 2023 World Cup contest against Australia.
Afghanistan shocked Australia to register their first victory over the 2021 World T20 champions across formats. After Aussie captain Mitchell Marsh put Afghanistan into batting first, they put on a decent 148 in 20 overs. In response, Australia lost their top 3 inside power play and were bowled out for 127 in 19.2 overs.
Gurbaz, who top-scored with 60, said in the video uploaded by ICC:
"They hurt us in 50-over World Cup. We hurt them. Baat khatam."
Rashid Khan also claimed that 23rd is their favourite date, given they beat Pakistan in the 2023 World Cup on October 23rd.
"We didn't finish well with the bat" - Rashid Khan
Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan lamented their inability to finish well, but attributed their composure to defending the 148-run total on the wicket. He said at the post-match presentation:
"It's a massive win for us as a team and nation. Beating Australia is a great feeling. It is something we missed out, in 2023 ODI World Cup and also the 2022 World Cup in Australia. We didn't finish well with the bat, but on this pitch, you can always struggle, and we struggled at the end. However the start given by them, it helped us post this total. We knew we were capable of defending as long as we stayed calm."
Afghanistan's final Super 8 match is against Bangladesh set to take place on Tuesday.
