What a missed opportunity for Afghanistan to make history against Australia in their first-ever T20I match. When Naib and Ibrahim Zadran began working together, it appeared to be their game. However, Maxwell then came up with a direct smash from deep mid-wicket, and some mediocre batting in that over caused them to completely falter. Rashid Khan, though, kept the battle going with a 23-ball 48, but he ultimately ran out of time after having given the hosts a few frights with his daring.
Matthew Wade - Australia Captain :
Since we handed Stoinis the final over, it must have been extremely nerve-racking for the all-rounder to bowl it. He did it three to four times while I was his opponent in the IPL. But I was never 100 percent certain. We plan to remain here overnight to watch the game tomorrow and are hoping for a surprise. Since the beginning of the competition, we have been sluggish, and hopefully this hasn't cost us anything. David came extremely close to being selected tonight, and we have high hopes that they'll both come through if we make it.
Afghanistan Captain - Mohammad Nabi :
They got off to a strong start in the cricket match, and Farooqi bowled effectively in the latter stages. The way we started in the powerplay and in the middle, but under pressure, we lost those 4 wickets. It's quite challenging to play a game and then wait 10 days to play again. Throughout this competition, we gained absolutely no momentum. We become better every day, and today's game was great for us.