GUYANA (West Indies): Spin wizard Rashid Khan and pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi sliced through the New Zealand batting order to help Afghanistan demolish the Blackcaps, registering an 84 runs victory in the Group C match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024 at the Providence Stadium on Friday (local time).
With two out of two victories, Afghanistan solidified their chances of qualifying from Group C. The Blackcaps were outplayed in all aspects, as the Afghans continue unearthing T20 stars that have the nation daring to dream in the Caribbean.
New Zealand gave away Afghanistan too many lifelines in the field, which backfired on the Kiwis as they paid dearly for it and suffered an uncharacteristic collapse with the bat. Upsets continue to steal the limelight in the ongoing T20 World Cup with first debutants USA beating Asian giant Pakistan and Canada defeating Ireland.
Defending a target of 160, Farooqi sliced through the top order with a 3-wicket burst inside the batting powerplay. Farooqi took out Finn Allen on the very first ball of the innings, and the left-armer then had the wickets of Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell before the Kiwis could create any momentum.
After that, it was Afghanistan spinners, who made the most out of the spin-friendly Guyana pitch. Then it was Rashid’s turn to get in on the act and the Afghan captain scalped the prized scalp of Kane Williamson (9 off 13) with his first ball. He took two straight at the start of his next over, as Mitchell Santner had to deal with a hat-trick ball.
In his final over, Rashid removed Lockie Ferguson, finishing with 17/4 off his four overs. Farooqi in his last over ended New Zealand’s resistance at the crease as he removed Matt Henry, bundling out New Zealand for 75 runs in 15.2 overs to wrap up an 84-run victory.
Earlier, Afghanistan was put to bat first, the Afghan openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran took full advantage of numerous fielding fails- a missed stumping and fumbled runout from keeper Devon Conway, along with a dropped catch at deep backward square leg.
The openers took their team past the 50-run mark in under 10 overs. The duo continued to build a solid partnership and Gurbaz brought up his second half-century in the ongoing T20 WC.
Ibrahim Zadran hammered three boundaries on his way to a handy 44 off 41 balls, before Azmatullah Omarzai added a fast-twitched 22-run cameo from just 13 deliveries – his dismissal finally saw the Kiwis take a catch in the field, through Lockie Ferguson.
A mix-up witnessed captain Rashid depart before Gurbaz’s stay at the crease came to a close at 80 off 56. In the end, Afghanistan posted 159 runs on board for Kiwis to chase.
Brief score: Afghanistan 159/6 (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 80, Ibrahim Zadran 44; Trent Boult 2-22) vs New Zealand. (ANI)