Photo: Collected
The first T20 World Cup semifinals in Trinidad will be a contest between the overachievers and underachievers of international cricket.
The second semifinal will feature two of the sport’s heavyweights, India and defending champion England. The joy of reaching the Twenty20 World Cup semifinals for the first time at the expense of cricket powerhouse Australia lasted long after the dramatic win over Bangladesh in St. Vincent.
On Wednesday, the underdog Afghan team will go back to work against South Africa, which has been at or near the top of limited-overs cricket for decades but never won a title at a global tournament.
Rashid is one of the leading bowlers in the T20 format, a regular star in the franchise leagues around the world. This is the pinnacle so far for him in national colors.
“It’s a massive achievement for us as a team and as a nation to be in the semis," he said. “The cricket we have played in the whole tournament so far - I think we deserve to be there.”
At the end of his post-match TV interview in the early hours of Tuesday morning, Rashid thanked the interviewer and then delivered a message in Pashto — an eastern Iranian language — for the team's massive following back in Kabul.
Afghans in their thousands took to the streets of Kabul to celebrate the national team's success in the Caribbean.
After reaching the second round at the previous three T20 World Cups, Afghanistan knocked out New Zealand in the group stage and then beat Australia for the first time last weekend to advance to the final four.
Messenger/Sourov
