When the end came it was quick. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the tournament’s leading run scorer, out third ball. The rest followed in a procession. All out for 56, their record lowest total.
South Africa, chasing a worthy goal of their own, knocked it off with few alarms, needing less than nine overs to get the job done.
And that was it. Afghanistan’s fairy tale was over. Only Rashid Khan begged to differ. Instead, the captain claimed, it is the start.
“Before the tournament if we were told we would be in the semi-final playing against one of the best teams in the world, we would have accepted that,” he said.
“Overall, we are quite happy with the way we managed ourselves in pressure situations. We have had tough situations and the guys responded quite well. For me that was pleasing.
“And beating big teams in this competition was something that was very special for us. It is just the beginning for us.
“We have the confidence and belief that we can beat any team on our day, as long as we keep the process simple and believe in ourselves. We are capable of beating any side.”
It is not the very start, of course. It is difficult to place the exact genesis of the story of Afghanistan cricket.
One starting point might have been in December 2001, when scores of refugees who had been living their lives in exile in Pakistan started their journey home.
An alliance of US army soldiers, special forces and Afghan militia forced the dispersal of Taliban fighters. Meanwhile, Taj Malik Khan was on the road to Jalalabad from Kacha Gari refugee camp, with one change of clothes, a cricket bat and ball.
He was also carrying with him the dream of setting up the first Afghanistan national cricket team. Within 18 months, he was holding trials in Kabul which discovered Mohammed Nabi, and became the first coach of the side himself.
All that feels like ancient history now given the incredible advance of cricket in Afghanistan. The team that made it to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in the United States and Caribbean is packed full of Indian Premier League stars, Nabi among them.
They have taken wins off all the world’s best teams, including England last year in the ODI World Cup, and Australia in this T20 one.
Yes, they took a knock in the first knockout game they have played, dumped out by South Africa. But it is to their credit that the defeat spoke less of them being overawed by the occasion as all the other factors that were against them.
They had undergone a taxing transit to Trinidad from Jamaica after their epic win over Bangladesh in their final Super Eight match.
“We only got back to hotel at 3am, and then we had to leave at 8am,” Jonathan Trott, Afghanistan’s coach, said.
“We didn't get much sleep, so the guys were obviously very tired and had a lot to process really emotionally and physically.
“It is all new territory for the guys and it all plays its part in a way, but we were outplayed today.”
Which is also forgivable. Facing an attack comprising Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and the outstanding Marco Jansen, on a track that was scarcely fit for purpose, let alone a World Cup semi-final, would have been tough going for anyone.
But the manner of their progress to this stage meant they felt destiny was still going to favour them.
“It is tough to take,” Rashid said. “We might have done a little bit better than that but the conditions didn’t allow us to do what we wanted to.
“That is what T20 is all about. You need to be mentally ready for any kind of conditions and situations but the way they bowled was exceptional and we just couldn’t bat well.”
The extreme conditions showed up Afghanistan’s one obvious deficiency. For all the brilliance of their pace attack, the spin bowling, and their top-order batting, they are on the scout out for a reliable middle order.
“Whenever you lose a game like this, it’s always going to hurt,” Trott said.
“And it should hurt because we put so much into it. The sacrifices made by the players, coaching staff, management, officials all that sort of stuff. It hurts at the moment.
“We arrived at the ground in high spirits ready to take on a strong South African side and make sure we gave a good account of ourselves, and I feel like we haven’t done that.
“That’s the most disappointing thing. I’m very proud of the guys. This one performance doesn't necessarily define the tournament.
“But it also gives us an indication of where we need to work on and what we need to get better at.
“If we’re going to be competitive more consistently, [we need to work out] who we can rely on with the bat and who's going to get us over the line, certainly if we have to chase.”
RESULT
Arsenal 1 Chelsea 2
Arsenal: Aubameyang (13')
Chelsea: Jorginho (83'), Abraham (87')
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
AUSTRALIA SQUAD v SOUTH AFRICA
Aaron Finch (capt), Shaun Marsh, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ogram%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Karim%20Kouatly%20and%20Shafiq%20Khartabil%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20On-demand%20staffing%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2050%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMore%20than%20%244%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20round%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Series%20A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGlobal%20Ventures%2C%20Aditum%20and%20Oraseya%20Capital%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPowertrain%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20electric%20motor%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E201hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E310Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E53kWh%20lithium-ion%20battery%20pack%20(GS%20base%20model)%3B%2070kWh%20battery%20pack%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E350km%20(GS)%3B%20480km%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh129%2C900%20(GS)%3B%20Dh149%2C000%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Audi R8 V10 RWS
Price: base / as tested: From Dh632,225
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 540hp @ 8,250rpm
Torque: 540Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.4L / 100km
