Afghanistan stuns Australia to keep Twenty20 World Cup dream alive. India beat Bangladesh

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent (AP) — Afghanistan kept its Twenty20 World Cup semifinal hopes alive by stunning previously unbeaten Australia by 21 runs in a thrilling encounter on Saturday.

Despite a second successive hat-trick by Australian bowler Pat Cummins, Afghanistan posted 148-6 after being asked to bat first on a tricky pitch at the Arnos Vale Ground.

Afghanistan pair Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran put on 118 for the highest opening partnership against Australia in a T20 match before Australia’s bowlers rallied late, including Cummins’ second career hat-trick — just two days after his first.

Australia then stumbled with the bat and were all out for 127, with only Glenn Maxwell (59 off 41 balls) coming to grips with the superb Afghanistan bowling attack and the turning wicket.

Man of the match Guldabin Naib took four wickets in an inspired spell in the middle overs to stall Australia’s chase before Azmatullah Omarzai had final wicket Adam Zampa caught in the deep in the final over to complete a stunning win amid jubilant celebrations among the Afghan players and team management.

“It’s a massive win for us as a team and as a nation in the World Cup beating (the) champions,” captain Rashid Khan said.

“It’s so important for us in back home for everyone all around the world where Afghanistan people, the Afghans are there, you know, they are badly missing this win and I’m sure they would have been so proud of and they would have enjoyed the game and I think it’s just the beginning now for us,” he added.

The victory moves Afghanistan to two points in Group 1 and level with Australia, but behind on net run rate. India leads the group on four points. Bangladesh are bottom after two losses but still have a chance of qualifying for the semifinals.

The final group standings will be decided on Monday when Afghanistan plays Bangladesh at St. Vincent and Australia play India Monday at St. Lucia.

Earlier, Gurbaz scored 60 off 49 balls, while Zadran made a steady 51 off 48 balls as they laid a solid platform — helped by some uncharacteristically poor fielding by Australia.

Marcus Stoinis eventually made the breakthrough in the 16th over, dismissing Gurbaz which led to a flurry of wickets as the momentum shifted.

Adam Zampa (2-28) took two wickets in the next over, including Zadran’s, before Pat Cummins again came to the fore.

The seam bowler had Rashid Khan (two) caught by Tim David in the deep with the final ball off the 18th over.

Cummins (3-28) returned to bowl the final over of the innings and with his first ball had Karim Janat (13) again caught by David.

For the hat-trick ball Cummins’ cleverly disguised a slower delivery which Guldabin Naib could only loft to Glenn Maxwell running in from the boundary to claim the catch.

Australia stumbled early in the chase as it lost Travis Head bowled by Naveen-ul-Haq for no score with the third ball of the innings.

Captain Mitchell Marsh (12) played two big shots before he was Naveen’s second wicket and when David Warner (three) was out to spinner Mohammad Nabi’s first ball the Aussies were in trouble at 32-3 in the sixth over.

Stoinis and Maxwell steadied the Australian innings as they reached 70-3 at the halfway stage.

Gulbadin (4-20) was the eighth bowler used by Afghanistan inside the first 11 overs and it paid a near instant dividend as Stoinis could only sky a pull shot which was caught by Gurbaz.

Gulbadin then removed David (two) and when the allrounder had Maxwell spectacularly caught by Noor Ahmad an upset victory appeared likely.

Australia’s lower order batters couldn’t find the big hits that the moment demanded either and when veteran Nabi took a catch on the boundary to dismiss Zampa (nine), Afghanistan’s deserved victory was confirmed.

At North Sound, Antigua, Hardik Pandya blasted Bangladesh with a 27-ball half-century and Kuldeep Yadav's three wickets finished off India's win earlier Saturday.

Pandya struck four boundaries and three sixes in an unbeaten 50 to lead India to 196-5.

Yadav then took 3-19 in four overs to limit Bangladesh to 146-8.

India moved to the top of Group 1 in the Super Eight with two wins from two matches. Afghanistan moved to two points after it beat Australia by 21 runs later Saturday, but stayed behind Australia in third place on net run rate. Bangladesh remained winless.

Put into bat, India started quick as captain Rohit Sharma scored 23 off 11 balls. Virat Kohli added 37 off 28, hitting three sixes. The duo put on 39 off 22 balls for India’s best opening stand in the tournament.

Sharma was caught in the fourth over off Shakib al Hasan, while Kohli put on another 32 off 27 balls with Rishabh Pant for the second wicket.

Tanzim Hasan Sakib struck twice in the ninth over, getting Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav for 6 as India slumped to 77-3.

But Rishabh Pant anchored one end with 36 off 24, including four fours and two sixes, putting on 31 off 19 balls with Shivam Dube.

Despite Pant’s dismissal in the 12th over, Dube’s prowess against spin came in handy — he hit three sixes, scoring 34 off 24 balls.

But it was Pandya who took charge in the death overs. India scored 62 runs in the last five overs.

Pandya was named player of the match.

“We have played some really good cricket (to win five straight games),” he said. "We have executed our plans well, but as a group we can still improve. We sometimes lose wickets in a bunch, but apart from that things are looking good.”

Bangladesh's reply made a steady start. Openers Litton Das (13) and Tanzid Hasan (29) added 35 off 27 until Pandya got the breakthrough in the fifth over.

The Tigers were at 66-2 in the 10th over and scoring slower. The chase unravelled when Yadav came on to bowl. He trapped Hasan lbw, and dismissed Towhid Hridoy for 4 and claimed the big wicket of Shakib for 11.

Bangladesh lost three wickets for 32 runs across 24 balls and didn't recover.

Pace bowlers Jasprit Bumrah (2-13) and Arshdeep Singh (2-30) helped to seal India’s fifth win over Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz bats during the men's T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and Australia at Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Afghanistan's Ibrahim Zadran bats during the men's T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and Australia at Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz congratulates teammate Gulbadin Naib, right, after taking the wicket of Australia's Tim David during the men's T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and Australia at Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Australia's Ashton Agar drops a catch during the men's T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and Australia at Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Australia's Glenn Maxwell bats during the men's T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and Australia at Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Afghanistan's Gulbadin Naib celebrates after defeating Australia by 21 runs in their men's T20 World Cup cricket match at Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Afghanistan's captain Rashid Khan, centre, celebrates the wicket of Australia's Matthew Wade during the men's T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and Australia at Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

India's Virat Kohli hits a six during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Bangladesh at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

India's Virat Kohli, right, celebrates scoring runs with batting partner Rishabh Pant during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Bangladesh at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

India's Rishabh Pant, left, reacts after playing a shot during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Bangladesh at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Bangladesh's Tanzim Hasan, second right, celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of India's Virat Kohli during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Bangladesh at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

India's Rishabh Pant plays a shot during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Bangladesh at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

India's Hardik Pandya plays a shot during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Bangladesh at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — USA Gymnastics was a house afire five years ago, the massive fallout surrounding the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal rendering one of the U.S. Olympic movement's marquee programs radioactive.

Lawsuits. Bankruptcy. Potential decertification. A revolving door at the top as CEOs incapable or unwilling to find a path forward came and went. Sponsorships vanished.

And perhaps most damaging of all: the erosion of trust between the organization and its tens of thousands of members, from the men and women competing at this week's Olympic trials to club owners to coaches to the parents of kids just starting out.

Before Li Li Leung took the job as president and CEO of the flailing national governing body in early 2019, the former Michigan gymnast turned NBA executive asked a longtime mentor for guidance.

“He said to me ‘You have the opportunity to be a part of potentially the greatest turnaround in sporting history, how can you not take it?’” Leung told The Associated Press. “And I'm like, 'That's pretty compelling.'"

So is the progress.

Five-plus years after taking over, things are improving. Not perfect — fitting for a sport where perfection is essentially unattainable — but better. Legally, fiscally and Leung believes, culturally.

A packed Target Center will be awash this weekend with the logos of blue-blood corporate partners that fled in the wake of the Nassar revelations. Underneath the rebranded USA Gymnastics logo, athletes eyeing a spot in Paris will compete in an environment they believe is in a far healthier place than it was between the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.

Few have watched this methodical evolution unfold more closely than seven-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles. The 27-year-old superstar publicly identified herself as a Nassar victim in early 2018 and has never shied away from taking those in power to task. Asked recently where her relationship with USA Gymnastics stands as she aims for a third trip to the Games, Biles strikes a more conciliatory tone.

“I think it's changed because a lot of the people in there have changed,” she said. “They have stepped up to the role. They've done the work. They put in the work.”

Leung wants to get something straight. She didn't intend to hire an executive leadership team comprised entirely of women — from Chief Operating Officer to the organization's first-ever Chief of Athlete Wellness on down — to mirror the makeup of an organization whose membership is 85% female. It just sort of happened.

There were specific qualities Leung was looking for as she tried to put together a group that could help lead USA Gymnastics out of the wilderness, and one she was trying to avoid.

“They couldn't possess any ego at all,” Leung said. “I knew in order for us to do what we had to do ... they had to realize it wasn't about them as an individual, but it was about the wider mission, the wider purpose of what we're trying to achieve.”

Enter people like Stefanie Korepin. A former member of the U.S. rhythmic gymnastics national team in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Korepin admits she “wanted nothing to do with” the sport when she retired.

Korepin earned her MBA and went into the corporate world before realizing the sport was in her blood. She began moonlighting as a judge before eventually becoming an interim board member in 2018, a decision that eventually led Korepin to her current role as chief program director.

“It was a burning building, and if anyone had their eyes wide open, it was me,” she said. “I was on the board. I saw everything that was happening. I saw exactly what the organization was facing.”

Korepin remembers feeling "a bit disillusioned" as a national team member, a time when she felt decisions were made in the dark and never explained. The result was “a lot of distrust.”

One of her guiding principles has been trying to pull the veil back as much as possible. This weekend, when the selection committees meet to pick the men's and women's Olympic teams, there will be an independent observer in the room who will later submit a detailed report on how the committee arrived on who's in and who's out.

It's a process Korepin integrated before the 2020 Olympics, one the organization follows for major international assignments. After some initial pushback from what Korepin described as “PTSD because the organization was constantly in the spotlight for not the right reasons,” it has been embraced.

USA Gymnastics has also implemented a new athlete funding model, a tiered system based on performance that provides very specific guidelines for each discipline — from women's artistic gymnastics down to non-Olympic sports like double mini-trampoline.

Gone is the mystery of how the money is divided. In its place is the kind of peace of mind Korepin didn't have when she was competing.

“There can be a lot of mental stress to support yourself or for a family trying to support an elite athlete,” she said. “This helps with their mental health knowing they have funding. I think it plays a little piece of the puzzle in helping the athletes stay in the sport longer because they know what to expect.”

The organization also divided the responsibilities at the top of the women's elite program, creating a new paradigm that includes 2008 Olympians Chellsie Memmel and Alicia Sacramone Quinn working together to guide a five-woman team that will arrive in Paris as heavy gold-medal favorites.

Their presence works on multiple fronts. It does away with the optics of making it seem as if there is just one person in charge of the decision-making while giving the athletes leaders who understand what it takes to get to this moment better than anyone.

“They’ve been through exactly what we’ve been through, they’ve been to those world championships, they’ve been to those Olympic Games,” Biles said. “They have had their ups and they have had their downs so I think that their leadership has helped evolve (the senior program).”

Biles dragged the importance of mental well-being into the spotlight when she withdrew from multiple finals at the 2020 Olympics due to what she labeled " The Twisties."

As part of its sponsorship agreement with an apparel company, USA Gymnastics began setting aside money that reimburses national team members and their coaches for visits to mental health professionals when they're back home.

Leung described interest and participation in the program as “really good," adding it was important to make sure the services weren't limited strictly to the athletes.

“Athlete-centricity means supporting the entire ecosystem that supports the athletes,” Leung said. “And supporting the coaches is really important.”

That support can come in different forms. And species.

USA Gymnastics makes therapy dogs, led by Beacon, a golden retriever, a staple at major events. The idea came from rhythmic gymnastics vice president Caroline Hunt — who advocated for it for several years — and Leung, who witnessed the effect comfort dogs had on her father during a hospital stay.

The trickle-down benefits have been surprising. While the dogs — several friends joined Beacon during U.S. Championships earlier this month — have helped the gymnasts relax, they've also been a hit with coaches and judges, lowering anxiety levels all around.

“I have seen the most stoic coaches soften around the dogs," Leung said. “It's actually pretty incredible to see.”

There is a level of optimism around USA Gymnastics that didn't exist a half-decade ago. Still, progress in some areas has been slow.

While Leung believes there is now a “culture of reporting” around suspected abusive behavior at member gyms, the lack of funding and manpower at the SafeSport Center — an independent entity that handles allegations of abuse from various governing bodies across the U.S. Olympic movement — has made investigations move at a sloth-like pace if they even end up being adjudicated at all.

Though elite gymnastics has never been more diverse, that diversity does not extend to judging panels, which lean heavily toward white men and women. Korepin called growing the judging pool in general “a priority,” and added that it starts with recruiting and increased education.

Over a dozen cities have expressed interest in bidding for a training and wellness center that would serve as a centralized hub for all national team disciplines, with the hope that groundbreaking on the site — whenever it might be — would come well before the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

While encouraged by the response, there are potential political landmines too. Though a given state's stance on women's rights will part of the “decision-making matrix," Leung stressed the focus will be on the “whole proposal.”

Perhaps the biggest shift during Leung's tenure is that the headlines being generated around USA Gymnastics center on what's happening on the competition floor, not off it.

It's telling of how far things have come that Biles felt comfortable leaving her rotation during the final day of the U.S. Championships earlier this month to lend support to 2020 Olympic champion Sunisa Lee after Lee fell during her vault dismount.

There was no checking with the coaches for permission. Biles had the freedom to do what she felt was necessary in the moment, running over to comfort Lee then joining her backstage to offer a pep talk.

It served as a reminder that “at the end of the day they’re young women who care about each other,” said Quinn, who helped the U.S. win silver at the 2008 Olympics and now serves as the strategic lead for the senior women's program.

That wasn't always the case.

“It was showing a sign of weakness to have feelings about another teammate or athlete hoping to do well,” said Quinn, who helped the U.S. win a team silver at the 2008 Olympics. “It’s not that way anymore.”

And while the scars of the largest sexual abuse scandal in sports history at USA Gymnastics may always be visible, there is a sense of progress even though all involved know the job is far from finished.

It may never be finished because there is no such thing as an environment that's too safe, too open, too transparent.

Still, they remain wary of getting ahead of themselves. There have been mistakes. There will be mistakes. Yet there are signs that the trust that was practically non-existent during the organization’s darkest days is returning.

Considering the firestorm Leung and her team sprinted toward, it's a start.

“I think that there is a belief in the community that our intent is good,” Leung said, “and we're really trying to do the right things.”

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Simone Biles stretches during a training session ahead of the U.S. Gymnastics Olympic Trials Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

FILE - Support dogs are greeted by athletes during the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, June 2, 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas. USA Gymnastics makes therapy dogs a staple at major events to help gymnasts relax, they've also been a hit with coaches and judges, lowering anxiety levels all around. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

FILE - Li Li Leung, president of USA Gymnastics, speaks during the U.S. gymnastics championships Aug. 18, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. USA Gymnastics believes it is building momentum toward a better future as the 2024 Olympics near. President Li Li Leung and her team have placed an emphasis on transparency and support in hoping to re-establish trust in athletes, coaches and gym owners alike. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)

FILE - Support dogs are greeted by athletes during the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, June 2, 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas. USA Gymnastics makes therapy dogs a staple at major events to help gymnasts relax, they've also been a hit with coaches and judges, lowering anxiety levels all around. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

FILE - Support dogs are greeted by athletes during the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, June 2, 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas. USA Gymnastics makes therapy dogs a staple at major events to help gymnasts relax, they've also been a hit with coaches and judges, lowering anxiety levels all around. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)