Afghanistan increased their chances of making the Super Eight with yet another convincing victory, this time in Providence by thrashing New Zealand by 84 runs. They defeated Uganda by 125 runs in their first game and now lead Group C with a 5.225 net run rate. 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 innings consisted of two parts. Gurbaz contributed 80 off 56 balls as they scored 55 for no loss in the first ten overs and 104 for 6 in the final ten. With no warm-up games scheduled, New Zealand appeared somewhat out of practice as their fielders lost catches and failed to capitalize on run-out opportunities.
The surface was helping the spinners and seamers equally, so it would not be easy to chase 160. However, very few people anticipated that New Zealand would fall apart the way that it did.
Fazalhaq Farooqi picked up three wickets in the powerplay and Rashid Khan three just after it. Eventually, both ended with identical figures of 4 for 17 as New Zealand were bowled out for 75 in the 15.2 overs. Glenn Phillips and Matt Henry were the only New Zealand batters to reach the double digits.
Trent Boult opened with a bit of swing, but Gurbaz and Ibrahim made it clear they meant business by hitting Henry three times for four at the opposite end.
Also, both batters were fortunate. When Gurbaz skipped down the track to Santner and missed the ball, which went on to brush the leg stump but the bails remained in place, Gurbaz was given a second chance at life. Finn Allen dropped Ibrahim off Henry 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.
After two balls, 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, Bracewell applied the brakes.
With two right-hand hitters at the crease, New Zealand defied conventional advice and didn’t bowl an offspinner. Michael Bracewell rewarded their faith by giving up just six runs in his opening two overs.
Lockie Ferguson went for five in his first two, demonstrating even greater thrift. He could have pulled off a slower full throw to Ibrahim, but at mid-off, a leaping Kane Williamson was unable to complete a one-handed stunner. That meant that after 10 overs, Afghanistan had only managed to score 55 runs, but they were still unharmed.
The quickening
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.
Azmatullah Omarzai, who was moved up to No. 3, contributed with a score of 22 off 13, which featured two sixes in three balls off Henry. Mohammad Nabi was dismissed for a first-ball duck, but Gurbaz was consistently hitting the boundary. But Boult’s three-wicket, three-run last over held Afghanistan to 159.
