Afghanistan Vs New Zealand
New Zealand will look to build on their success against Uganda by facing Afghanistan in Guyana for their second match in this tournament. Their Black Caps boast several talented batsmen and bowlers but remain without Mujeeb Ur Rahman who remains injured.
Afghanistan Vs New Zealand | Afghanistan: 159/6
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran put on an outstanding partnership of 103 for the opening wicket as Afghanistan took an easy victory in their inaugural match against New Zealand. Their openers benefitted from some poor fielding from New Zealand including dropped catches, missed stumpings and an accidental runout from Devon Conway (keeper). Left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi who took five wickets against Uganda made an early impact before soon after Rashid Khan struck again to give Afghanistan an easy win in their opening match against New Zealand.
Gurbaz made 80 off 56 balls – following on his previous performance of 76 against Uganda – and was supported by Zadran’s 44 off 41 deliveries and Azmatullah Omarzai’s 22 off 13 deliveries.
Trent Boult struck back with two wickets in his final over, leaving the Kiwis struggling at 45-4 and not expected to recover quickly from this position. Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry and Mitchell Santner all fell for single-figure scores as their resistance collapsed completely.
Najibullah Zadran was given out leg before wicket by Naveen in the final over after trying an ambitious back-foot shot at wide midwicket and losing his balance while trying to execute it. Afghanistan submitted to a review and decided that the ball had hit him on the pads, however after reviewing their footage they requested a replay and showed that it would have struck his leg stump instead of striking directly against it.
Williamson attempted to shuffle across to the off-side but was trapped lbw by Naveen’s slow delivery that appeared to strike Williamson in the foot and all out for 75 runs in 15 overs. New Zealand’s hopes of qualifying for the Super 8 rest on a win against West Indies in their final match, to have any chance at qualifying for the next stage of this tournament.
Afghanistan Vs New Zealand | New Zealand: 68/9
The Black Caps entered this match expecting to romp to an easy win at home as one of the tournament’s favorite sides, yet were humiliated by an excellent Afghan side who easily dismantled New Zealand’s batting lineup and ran through them with ease.
Afghanistan’s bowlers claimed three wickets within three overs of starting play and four more within three more overs to quickly take control of the match. New Zealand’s middle order struggled against Afghanistan’s pace-spin combination and eventually succumbed like trees to one well-placed missile.
Fazalhaq Farooqi, who picked up five wickets against Uganda in his previous game, played an integral part in this carnage early on against New Zealand batsmen. His first ball delivered an accurate full-length delivery which Finn Allen tried to drive but couldn’t. This wicket proved crucial.
Rashid Khan then struck back, dismissing Glenn Phillips (0) with his next over. Phillips attempted to sweep, only for it to land directly in Rashid’s hands at short third man.
Rashid struck early for the Kiwis as Kane Williamson fell to his first ball from Rashid’s spell; trying to play a sweep shot but instead getting hit on his pads by Rashid’s leg-spinner, which allowed an easy return catch from him. Later in the innings, Azmatullah Omarzai tried hitting Henry over deep square leg but was caught at deep midwicket; leading them to their lowest T20 total ever; their dismal campaign in Guyana being brought full circle by this match ending on 68-9.
Afghanistan Vs New Zealand | Final Score
Once Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to field first, New Zealand quickly lost momentum as Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran quickly formed a 103-run partnership in just 14.3 overs.
New Zealand bowlers struggled to apply pressure to Afghanistan batsmen as Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson shared six boundaries between them in the opening four overs of this match-up. Trent Boult was New Zealand’s main wicket-taker while Lockie Ferguson picked up one for New Zealand.
17.4: Matt Henry to Gurbaz, FOUR! Short and on the deck, Gurbaz hits it past cover for his first boundary of the match. Shortly afterwards he followed that up by driving it over midwicket for another four from this over.
Afghanistan Vs New Zealand
Gurbaz and Zadran both hit their maiden SIX of the match as Afghan openers took control of the game with three impressive hits to put New Zealand bowling back on its heels in the penultimate over.Afghanistan Vs New Zealand
Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the beneficiary of an unusually generous review decision when he went for a full-length ball that appeared to strike his leg stump, although the Kiwis insisted he hadn’t grounded his bat and were awarded not out.Afghanistan Vs New Zealand
Ibrahim Zadran also used DRS review after trying to cut a short ball from Naveen onto his pads for an out. Replays showed that leg stump had indeed been struck by the ball and they were granted the wicket.Afghanistan Vs New Zealand
Last over proved exciting as two wickets fell within quick succession. Zadran and Gurbaz both reached half-centuries to ensure Afghani batsmen passed 100. Their partnership of 102 was fifth highest at World Cup level.Afghanistan Vs New Zealand
