New Zealand’s dominant performance led by Lockie Ferguson and Mitchell Santner, each taking 3 wickets, resulted in a comprehensive 149-run victory over Afghanistan, marking their fourth consecutive win.
Afghanistan’s skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi chose to field after winning the toss against New Zealand in their World Cup match at Chennai on Wednesday, October 18. Kane Williamson, the New Zealand skipper, was absent due to a fractured thumb, resulting from their previous match against Bangladesh, with Will Young taking his place.
In the first innings, Mujeeb Ur Rahman provided Afghanistan with a strong start by dismissing Devon Conway LBW for 20(18), although their fielding performance was somewhat lackluster. There were early dropped catches of Will Young and Rachin Ravindra before Azmatullah Omarzai claimed two wickets in his first over, triggering a mini-collapse.
New Zealand posted a challenging total of 288/6 in their allotted 50 overs, thanks to half-centuries from Tom Latham (68 off 74 balls) and Glenn Phillips (71 off 80 balls), who both contributed significantly before Phillips was dismissed by Naveen-ul-Haq in the same over. Afghanistan’s sloppy fielding aided New Zealand to some extent, as they missed several chances during the innings. Mark Chapman also played a quick innings towards the end, scoring 25 off just 12 deliveries.
New Zealand’s pace duo of Trent Boult and Matt Henry claimed early wickets, sending Afghanistan’s openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran back to the pavilion cheaply in their pursuit of a 289-run target. Following these dismissals, Boult and Henry delivered three consecutive maiden overs, restricting Afghanistan to 28/2 in the first 10 overs. Lockie Ferguson added to Afghanistan’s woes by dismissing Hashmatullah Shahidi for just 8 runs. As the Kiwi bowlers maintained the pressure, Mitchell Santner, who reached the milestone of 100 wickets, removed key Afghan batsmen Mohammad Nabi, Naveen-ul-Haq, and Fazalhaq Farooqi, securing a convincing 149-run victory for New Zealand.
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Last Updated on October 18, 2023
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