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Watch: Afghan fans storm the streets after the team’s historic semi-final finish

The Arnos Vale Ground in St. Vincent has just witnessed history unfold in front of them as "Afghanistan" has booked their maiden semi-final berth at a major ICC Tournament!

Soumyaroop Mukherjee

New Delhi: The Arnos Vale Ground in St. Vincent has just witnessed history unfold in front of them as “Afghanistan” has booked their maiden semi-final berth at a major ICC Tournament! Coming into the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, Afghanistan were tagged as the dark horse of this year’s tournament.

However, the Afghans have outdone themselves to move way past the tags and expectations pegged with their brand of cricket. The Afghans first defeated Australia in a revenge match from last year’s ODI World Cup. Subsequently, the Atlans of Afghanistan went on to win an 8-run thriller over Bangladesh in a rain-curtailed game.

Afghanistan’s performance in the T20 World Cup has been on top as they thrashed an experienced New Zealand side to throw them out in the group stage itself. One of the main reasons for Afghanistan’s success has been the sheer dominance of the opening partnership of Gurbaz and Ibrahim. Added to that is their threatening spin attack which has reaped the benefits of the dusty bowls of the Caribbean.

“Tears of Joy!” from the islands of the Caribbean to the streets of Kabul!

While there were celebrations and joyous laughter in the Caribbean, the streets of Kabul did not shy away from the merrymaking. Fans stormed the streets of Kabul as the “tears of joy!” reverberated from the Caribbean to Kabul. When the tournament started apart from Brian Lara. However, when they started defeating teams like New Zealand and Australia at will, people started believing that this time the Afghans have dared to dream!

Upon their confirmation to the Super 8, the entire country took to the streets to celebrate. A fraction of the celebration can be fathomed from the way the social media was behaving:

What happened in the game?

Batting first Afghanistan managed to pile only 115/5 from their 20 overs courtesy of a tight bowling line from Taskin, Shakib and Mustafizur. While chasing Bangladesh saw their game scuttled by the rain on regular intervals as the final target boiled down to 114 in 14 overs.

However, with the spirited Afghanistan bowlers chipping at regular intervals, Naveen-ul-Haq struck the final nail in the coffin as the Afghanistan cricket team scripted a new chapter in the cricketing history.