Rahul NareshDay 22 of the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup witnessed two Super Eight matches, with the first being between Australia and Afghanistan, while the second saw England take on the USA.
Also watch: Is this Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli’s final T20 World Cup?
Men’s T20 WC 2024 Match 48: Afghanistan v Australia
In what must be the upset of the Super Eight so far, Australia were defeated by Afghanistan by 21 runs.
The Afghans batted first, and as usual, the top two, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (60 off 49) and Ibrahim Zadran (51 off 48) did the bulk of the scoring. After this opening pair put on 118 for the first wicket within 16 overs, the finish didn’t quite match the rest of the innings as Afghanistan finished with 148.
However, the Asian country came out strong with the ball and put Australia under serious pressure. The Aussies were 32/3 in 5.1 overs, and once again Glenn Maxwell made them hope with his 59 off 41. However, with no other significant contributions throughout the line-up, Australia ended up on the losing side by a rather big margin in the end.
If India defeat Australia and Afghanistan emerge victorious over Bangladesh, Mitchell Marsh and his team will be heading home.
First innings: Afghanistan 148/6 in 20 overs
Second innings: Australia 127/10 in 19.2 overs
Men’s T20 WC 2024 Match 49: England v USA
After a disappointing outing against South Africa, England ensured qualification for the semi-finals after convincingly defeating the USA by 10 wickets.
The US only put on 115 runs in the first innings, with the highest contribution coming from Nitish Kumar, who made 30 off 24. Chris Jordan was brilliant with the ball as he picked up four wickets while conceding just 10 runs.
In the chase, Jos Buttler was ruthless as he racked up 83 runs in 38 balls to make sure of his team’s place in the semis.
First innings: USA 115/10 in 18.5 overs
Second innings: England 117/0 in 9.4 overs
