Najibullah Zadran trolls Pat Cummins after Afghanistan crush Aussie's hopes for T20 World Cup semifinals

In a stunning turn of events in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024, Afghanistan secured their place in the semi-finals, eliminating Australia's chances. This historic win prompted a playful dig from Afghanistan batter Najibullah Zadran at Australian pacer Pat Cummins.

In the aftermath of this memorable win, Najibullah Zadran, a key member of the Afghan side, took to his X handle to deliver a cheeky response to Pat Cummins' bold statement ahead of the tournament.

Cummins, in an earlier interview with CNBC-TV18, had confidently stated, “Definitely Australia, other three you can choose,” when asked about his four semi-finalists for the 20-team tournament. Zadran cleverly flipped this statement, posting, “Q: How is the top 4 semi-finalist? A: definitely Australia other 3 you choose.”

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Afghanistan create history

The match began with Afghanistan winning the toss and electing to bat. Despite a watchful but promising start from openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (43) and Ibrahim Zadran (18), the team struggled to build momentum. Azmatullah Omarzai (10) and captain Rashid Khan (19*) made valuable contributions, but Bangladesh's bowlers, led by Rishad Hossain's three-wicket haul, restricted Afghanistan to a mere 115/5 after 20 overs.

Rain interruptions led to a revised target of 114 runs for Bangladesh in 19 overs. The chase proved challenging as Afghanistan's bowlers, particularly Rashid and Naveen-ul-Haq, both taking a 4-fer, applied relentless pressure. Despite Litton Das's unbeaten 54-run knock, Bangladesh fell short by 8 runs, securing Afghanistan's historic semi-final berth courtesy of DLS (Duckworth Lewis Stern) method.

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The Afghans had previously defeated Australia in their second Super Eights fixture by 21 runs, causing a major upset that weakened their hopes of progressing further in the tournament. Afghanistan is one of four semi-finalists, alongside England, South Africa, and India. They will face the Proteas in Semi-Final 1 on June 27 in Trinidad.