Massive glitch forces Australia to face one ball less against Afghanistan in 20-20 World Cup 2022
Australia won the match by 4 runs.
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Nov 4, 2022 5:51 pm
Australia face one ball less due to glitch against Afghanistan (Image Source: Twitter)
Australia faced off Afghanistan in a must-win game on November 4, Friday in the ongoing 20-20 World Cup 2022 and it was all about the Kangaroos as they managed to clinch the win by 4 runs. Although their road to the knockouts is still in England’s hands, Australia are well alive in the race for the semis.
However, during the first innings, when Australia batted, an error occurred in the third over, much to the dreariness of the fans which forced the Australians to face one ball less. Mitchell Marsh scored a boundary on the third ball of the over and ran 2 in the very next ball, which, ended up in an overthrow. Making use of it, Marsh sealed yet another run and picked up three runs of the fourth ball in total. Although the score was corrected later on, the Kangaroos, however, ended up facing one ball less in the entire innings.
How is it possible there can be a five-ball over in international cricket? Totally unacceptable. The only thing fair from here is Afghanistan also only gets five balls in its fourth over. #T20WorldCup
After putting on 168 runs on the board on the back of an unbeaten 52 from Glenn Maxwell, the Australian pacers struggled to come up with the right lengths with the ball as they kept conceding runs in the powerplay.
Even after picking up 2 wickets, the Kangaroos were out of rhythm as they conceded 47 runs at the end of 6 overs and looked on course to face a humiliating defeat. However, the team led by Matthew Wade bounced back in the middle overs and pulled things back. Rashid Khan, who came in at Number 8, started smacking boundaries and kept Afghanistan in the race. Despite scoring a greathearted 48 off just 23 balls at a strike rate of over 200, Afghanistan lost the match by 4 runs. Gulbadin Naib’s contribution cannot be ruled out either as the batter scored 39 runs off as many balls and kept the team alive in the middle overs.
Concerning Australia, they will make it through to the semi-finals if Sri Lanka beat England in Saturday’s battle. If at all the Island Nation fail to take home the 2 points, England will survive, while Australia, will crash out of the tournament. The Three Lions, on the other hand, will look to clinch the win and end Australia’s hopes of making it to the next round.
