Picture : ICC / X
Gritty and never- say-die Afghanistan, led by a fine all-round show by skipper Rashid Khan, produced a dogged display to beat Bangladesh by eight runs in the concluding Super Eight match and qualify for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in St Vincent .
The Afghanistan win means Australia are now out of the tournament .
In a must-win contest, which saw frequent rain interruptions, Afghanistan scored 115 for 5 in their 20 overs and then returned to bowl out Bangladesh for 105 in 17.5.
Rashid first produced an entertaining cameo at the fag end of their innings, scoring 19 off 10 balls, including 3 sixes, and then took four wickets for 23 runs. He was well-supported by Naveen-ul-Haq, who took 4 for 26 in a splendid bowling effort that sealed a tense victory.
In the penultimate over Naveen bowled Taskin Ahmed and trapped Mustafizur Rahman off consecutive deliveries, triggering tearful celebrations from his teammates.
The match was truncated to 19-overs-a-side due to inclement weather and Bangladesh were given a revised target of 114.
Afghanistan will take on South Africa in the semi-finals on June 27.
After the Afghans opted to bat on winning the toss, Rahmanullah Gurbaz top-scored with a 55-ball 43 but Rishab Hossain (3/26) snapped three wickets to restrict them to 115 for 5.
In reply, Litton Das scored an unbeaten 49-ball 54 but it was not enough take Bangladesh across the line.
