Afghanistan beat New Zealand, with stars like Rashid, Farooqi, and Gurbaz.
Afghanistan won its two straight matches when New Zealand gave up 75 in a chase of 160.
Ankush Pandey
Afghanistan beat New Zealand by 84 runs, scoring 159 for 6 (Gurbaz 80, Ibrahim 44, Boult 2-22, Henry 2-37) as opposed to 75 (Phillips 18, Rashid 4 for 17, Farooqi 4 for 17).
INRTO
- In Guyana, Afghanistan crushed New Zealand by 84 runs.
- It was the first-ever T20 international victory for Afghanistan versus New Zealand.
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Rashid Khan were the leaders of Afghanistan's victory.
After crushing New Zealand by 84 runs in Providence, Afghanistan increased their prospects of making the Super Eight. With a net run rate of 5.225, they lead Group C after defeating Uganda by 125 runs in their first game.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran gave Afghanistan a start of 103 in 14.3 overs after being sent in. It followed the pair's 154 against Uganda, which made them the first opening duo in T20 World Cup history to have two consecutive century stands.
Afghanistan's match was split into two halves. In the first ten overs, they scored 55 without losing, and in the final ten overs, they scored 104 for 6, with 80 coming from 56 balls thanks to Gurbaz. With their fielders missing run-out opportunities and dropping catches, New Zealand, who had elected not to play any warm-up games, appeared to be a little out of practice.
Chasing 160 was going to be difficult because the pitch was helping both seamers and spinners. The way that New Zealand collapsed was not something that many people had anticipated.
Rashid Khan took three wickets shortly after Fazalhaq Farooqi's three during the powerplay. After that, both finished with the same 4 for 17, and in the 15.2 overs, New Zealand was bowled out for 75. Only two hitters from New Zealand, Glenn Phillips and Matt Henry, reached double digits.
Afghanistan's shaky start
In the opening over, Trent Boult found some swing, but Gurbaz and Ibrahim made it clear they meant business by hitting Henry for three fours from the opposite end.
Additionally, both hitters were fortunate. After Gurbaz skipped down the track to Santner and missed the ball, which brushed the leg stump but remained in place due to the bails, Gurbaz was awarded a second chance at life. Henry was dropped by Finn Allen off Ibrahim at the deep-square-leg boundary in the next over.
But that wasn't all. Gurbaz was embroiled in a misunderstanding with Ibrahim, which resulted in another reprieve. Gurbaz had to backtrack after going for a single, and if Conway hadn't botched the throw, he would have been run out.
Two balls later, Santner finally appeared to have succeeded when he pinged Ibrahim's pads, and umpire Kumar Dharmasena declared it leg before wicket. However, as the ball was moving down the leg side, the hitter was able to have the call reversed on review. After that, Afghanistan ended the powerplay on 44 for no loss when Ibrahim hit Santner for an inside-out four.
Ferguson and Bracewell applied the brakes.
Michael Bracewell rewarded New Zealand's faith by giving up just six runs in his opening two overs, defying the conventional wisdom that suggested against bowling an offspinner with two right-hand hitters at the crease.
Going for five in his first two, Lockie Ferguson was even more economical. At mid-off, a leaping Kane Williamson was unable to complete a one-handed stunner, although he may have had Ibrahim off a slower full toss. This meant that, even though Afghanistan was unharmed, after ten overs, they only had 55 runs on the board.
The speeding up
After Afghanistan failed to score a six in the first ten overs, they managed to score five in the next three overs, with three coming in a Bracewell over as Gurbaz and Bracewell applied more pressure. In the fourteenth over, the two helped the team surpass 100. After getting struck on the grille by Henry's short ball, Ibrahim finally cracked the wicket for New Zealand when he bottom-edged it onto his stumps.
After moving up to No. 3, Azmatullah Omarzai contributed with a score of 22 off 13, which featured two sixes off Henry in three balls. Gurbaz was consistently hitting the boundary, but Mohammad Nabi fell for a first-ball duck. But Boult's final over of three wickets and three runs held Afghanistan to 159.
Afghanistan put on a clinic with bat and ball against New Zealand to continue their winning momentum ????#T20WorldCup | #NZvAFG | ???? https://t.co/v8noS59c1q pic.twitter.com/du3txa6GL0
— ICC (@ICC) June 8, 2024
Early on, Farooqi dominates New Zealand
With the ball, Farooqi gave Afghanistan an incredible start. As the ball moved in late, he removed Finn Allen's leg stump with the opening delivery of the innings. Conway pushed at one that appeared to come off the surface more slowly and was caught at extra cover in the seamer's subsequent over.
Giving Farooqi a third over during the powerplay paid out in several ways. Daryl Mitchell was bowled around the wicket this time, and he got a length delivery that simply straightened and took the outside edge. Gurbaz finished the dismissal with a routine catch, moving New Zealand 28 for 3.
For New Zealand, it could have been even worse. In between, after the batter had moved over to play a delivery, Naveen-ul-Haq had rapped Kane Williamson's front pad. Although Afghanistan requested an LBW review, the umpire's call preserved the captain of New Zealand.
Rashid becomes a member of the group
Williamson's wicket came quickly, granting Afghanistan a little wait. Once Williamson guided one to the first slip, Rashid hauled himself on for the powerplay and hit immediately. However, Rashid had just warmed up. He left New Zealand on 43 for 6 after dismissing Mark Chapman and Bracewell off consecutive deliveries in his subsequent over. Bracewell was bowled after failing to bring his bat down in time, while Chapman was bowled after attempting a pull.
The last hope for New Zealand was Phillips. He did cross a few lines, but when he attempted to challenge Nabi, he was quickly exposed. That put a stop to any thoughts of a New Zealand comeback.
