Celebrations erupt in Afghan cities after World Cup heroics

Afghans celebrate in the streets of Kabul yesterday. Pic/PTI

Rare celebrations erupted in multiple Afghan cities on Tuesday after the national cricket team reached the World Cup semi-finals for the first time with a nail-biting T20 win over Bangladesh.

Thousands gathered in the capital Kabul and in Khost, Jalalabad and other cities to celebrate the fairytale win, which also eliminated the formidable Australians from the competition.

Fans chanted praise for their "heroes", set off fireworks and danced in the streets. Some shed tears of joy. "I am lost for words," Hassan Khan Niazai told AFP in Kabul while celebrating the landmark achievement. "It is a special and historic moment for all Afghans. We are close to winning this World Cup now and being among the champions."

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Cricket fever runs deep in Afghanistan. The team's World Cup heroics have provided rare moments of widespread celebration in a country ravaged by four decades of war and beleaguered by economic, humanitarian and political crises.

Many celebrations were short-lived, however. The Taliban authorities, who have regularly cracked down quickly on unannounced public gatherings since retaking power in 2021, sent in security personnel to disperse the crowds.

Tuning in from Khost, Madina Sadiq and her children were up around dawn to watch the match held over 11,000 kilometres away in Arnos Vale on the Caribbean island of St Vincent. "It feels like another Eid after Eid al-Adha," Sadiq told AFP, of the major Muslim holiday which took place earlier in June.

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