Australia’s journey in the T20 World Cup 2024 came to an abrupt end after a dramatic match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The game was filled with twists and turns, ultimately resulting in Afghanistan’s victory and Australia’s elimination from the tournament. The match also sparked controversy and humor, thanks to Gulbadin Naib’s on-field antics and subsequent comments from Australian cricketers.

Match Summary

The match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh was a nail-biter, with Afghanistan eventually winning by eight runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method. Bangladesh, led by Litton Das’s valiant half-century, seemed poised to pull off a win, but Afghanistan held their nerves in the rain-affected game.

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The Controversial Act

During the match, Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott signaled his players to slow down the game when rain began to fall. Responding to this, Gulbadin Naib theatrically clutched his hamstring and fell to the ground, causing a delay. This act, while humorous to some, led to significant criticism, especially when Naib returned to the field, took a wicket, and celebrated energetically.

Adam Zampa’s criticism

Australian cricketer Adam Zampa did not hold back his criticism of Gulbadin Naib’s actions during the match, calling it “the old rainstring.” This comment referred to Naib’s dramatic fall and delay tactics as the rain started, an incident that Zampa and many others found questionable.

Mitchell Marsh’s reaction

Aussie skipper Mitchell Marsh reacted to the incident with a mix of humor and disappointment. While he found Naib’s antics amusing, calling them “outstanding” and admitting they were laugh-worthy.

“I was almost in tears laughing and at the end of the day it had no bearing on the game,” said Marsh. “So we can laugh about it now – but gee it was funny. It was outstanding.”

Marsh also expressed the team’s difficulty in accepting their back-to-back losses that led to their exit from the tournament.

“We watched it as a group. It was obviously a pretty amazing game wasn’t it? A lot of twists and turns,” he said.

“Obviously you want to keep playing this tournament and that was our only way of doing it. But there’s also the element that it was completely out of our control and we only had ourselves to blame for that.

“We were all flat (when the final wicket fell). We were desperate to continue on in the tournament. But fair play to Afghanistan – they beat us and they beat Bangladesh and they deserve to be in the semi-finals.”

Australia’s Campaign

Australia had a mixed campaign in the T20 World Cup, with strong performances overshadowed by critical losses against Afghanistan and India. These defeats, coupled with other match results, meant that their hopes of making the semifinals were dashed.