India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin made a special request to Elon Musk, owner of the social media platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), after encountering a baseless allegation against the Afghanistan cricket team by a Pakistani journalist. Afghanistan recently achieved a historic victory by defeating Australia by 21 runs in a Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup 2024, keeping their hopes alive in the tournament and putting Australia on the brink of elimination.
After Afghanistan’s impressive win, a Pakistani journalist fabricated a claim suggesting that Afghanistan can beat any team except India because Afghan players receive huge IPL contracts from the cricketing powerhouse. This comment sparked outrage from Ashwin, who then took to X to request Musk to curb such posts on his timeline.
“Afghanistan can beat any team in the world except India for obvious reasons. IPL contracts are very precious,” the journalist wrote.
Ashwin responded, “I can’t tell you what to do @elonmusk but I should certainly have the right to decide who enters my house. My timeline, my decision,” expressing his frustration over the baseless allegation.
I can’t tell u what to do @elonmusk but I should certainly have the right to decide who enters my house.
Gulbadin Naib Leads Afghanistan to Historic Victory
In the match against Australia, Afghanistan registered their first-ever win against the former champions Australia. Batting first, Afghanistan posted a below par total of 148/6 in their allotted 20 overs. Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran laid a solid foundation with a 118-run partnership off 95 balls. Gurbaz scored 60 off 49 balls, while Zadran contributed 51 off 48 balls.
Australia’s Pat Cummins made a remarkable effort with the ball, securing his second tournament hat-trick by dismissing Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, and Gulbadin Naib. Cummins finished with figures of 3/28, while Adam Zampa also chipped in with 2/28, helping Australia restrict Afghanistan to under 150.
In their chase, Australia struggled from the outset. Naveen ul Haq dismissed Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh early, while Mohammad Nabi removed the dangerous David Warner, leaving Australia reeling at 32/3. Glenn Maxwell then played a fighting knock, scoring a half-century (59 off 41 balls) to revive Australia’s hopes.
However, Gulbadin Naib turned the game around by dismissing Maxwell in the 15th over, finishing with figures of 4/20. Afghanistan capitalized on this momentum and bowled out Australia for 127 in 19.2 overs, sealing a memorable victory.
This win put Afghanistan in a strong position in the T20 World Cup, setting up a crucial final group game for Australia against India, which could determine their semi-final fate. Earlier in the tournament, Afghanistan also defeated New Zealand by 84 runs, contributing to the Kiwis’ eventual elimination after a subsequent loss to West Indies.
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