Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan says they believed to reach knockouts when they beat New Zealand in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 group stage.

Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by 8 runs (DLS method) in a breathtaking match in St Vincent on Tuesday (June 25). Rashid Khan's miraculous spell of 4 wicket haul and cool-headed finish from Naveen-ul-Haq in the crucial death overtook them to the semifinal in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup for the very first time in history. 

“The way we started the tournament, the belief came when we beat New Zealand. It's unbelievable,” Rashid said.

Before the start of the tournament, West Indies legend Brian Lara predicted that Afghanistan would qualify for the semifinals. Rashid reveals that he said to Lara that they wouldn’t let him down. “The only guy who put us in the semi-finals was Brian Lara and we proved him right. When we met him at a welcome party, I told him we won't let you down,” Rashid added.

After scoring 115 runs, Afghanistan thought that they scored 15 runs less. However, they had a belief in their bowlers and Rashid praises Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq to give Afghanistan a good start throughout the whole tournament.

“We thought 130-135 was a good score but we fell 15 runs short. In T20s if you get a good start, it helps us in the middle overs. They have given great starts to us in the whole competition. It makes it easier for us to go harder at the batsmen. They have delivered, they were very clear in their minds,” Rashid further said.