Michael Vaughan terms Afghanistan 'second best Asian team in cricket'

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has hailed Afghanistan as the second-best team in Asia in white-ball cricket following their historic win over Australia in the T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8.

Vaughan commended the Afghan players for their skill and praised Rashid Khan's leadership, remarking that such impressive performances from Afghanistan are no longer unexpected.

"It's no surprise anymore that Afghanistan produce performances like we have just witnessed. They are an extremely skilful set of players, brilliantly led by Rashid Khan," he stated.

Additionally, in a separate post on X, Vaughan emphasized that Afghanistan has now established itself as the second-best white-ball team in Asia.

In the match, Afghanistan defended a total of 148-6, bowling out Australia for 127 in 19.2 overs. Glenn Maxwell's 59 was the only significant contribution as Australia fell to Afghanistan for the first time in six encounters. Naveen-ul-Haq took 3-20, while Gulbadin Naib, named Player of the Match, claimed 4-20.

Batting first, Afghanistan's openers, Gurbaz (60 off 49) and Zadran (51 off 48), put up a partnership of 118 runs for the first wicket. A notable moment for Australia was Pat Cummins' hat-trick in the final overs, where he dismissed Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, and Gulbadin Naib. Cummins and Zampa each took three and two wickets, respectively, conceding 28 runs apiece in their four overs.