Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (60) and Ibrahim Zadran (51) both scored half-centuries, helping Afghanistan reach 148 for 6, a total Australia managed to restrict.

‘Big Achievement For Afghanistan Cricket’

“We were waiting for a long time. Great moment for me, my nation, my people. Big achievement for our cricket. Thanks to our fans for supporting our cricket journey. We worked hard for the last 2 months, and the result is in front of you,” he said.

“We beat Australia at last! It is a great achievement for Afghanistan cricket, our history isn’t too much so this is a great achievement.

“We played great cricket in the last World Cup, and this year we beat New Zealand in the group stage. Our journey starts now. We have great management and I’m very fortunate to have this team. Every game is important, we will rest tomorrow and think about it.” Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh said it was just an off day in the office.

“They probably got 20 too many. Lot of teams have bowled first in this tournament. Don’t think it was won or lost at the toss. We had an off night on the field.

However, all-rounder Gulabdin Naib delivered his career-best performance with figures of 4/20, bowling out Australia for 127 in 19.2 overs. Naib, who was named Player of the Match, expressed that the victory was long-awaited and hoped it would mark the beginning of a new chapter for the team.

Afghanistan had nearly defeated Australia in the ODI World Cup last year, but a stellar performance by Glenn Maxwell had thwarted their efforts.

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