Tags: ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, New Zealand vs Afghanistan, Match 14, Group C in Guyana, 7 June 2024, New Zealand, Afghanistan
Posted on: June 8, 2024
Scorecard | Commentary | graph
New Zealand won the toss and decided to bowl Guyana first. The Black Caps made some surprising calls in their playing XI as Rachin Ravindra and Tim Southee both failed to find their places. Mujeeb Ur Rahman replaced Noor Ahmed in the Afghanistan national team as he was ruled out due to a hand injury.
Afghanistan posted a total of 159 on the board as Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran notched two consecutive centuries. The duo put together a 103-run partnership for the first wicket with Gurbaz hitting a 56-ball 80 and Zadran scoring 44 runs off 41 balls. Trent Boult and Matt Henry took two wickets each.
Chasing 160, New Zealand continued to lose wickets regularly and could only score 76. For Afghanistan, Rashid and Farooqi took four wickets each. Apart from him, Mohammad Nabi also took two wickets. For New Zealand, Glenn Phillips scored 18 runs.
Afghanistan recorded its first ever victory. In the T20I against New Zealand, they beat the Kane Williamson-led side by 84 runs. The Rashid Khan-led side has recorded two consecutive wins in the tournament so far.
.Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan said this was one of his best performances against a world-class team in T20s. Add in the fact that the opener started well and it was a time when they were able to get some depth into the game without throwing away any wickets. The stock at mid-off had the batsmen in place, so the story was to play a natural, positive game and avoid more dot balls in the next 10 overs. According to the bowling unit they had, the benchmark was sufficient as all the bowlers used their skills to put pressure on the opposition. I think efforts were made from the beginning. The way Gurbaz and Zadran opened gave them a lot of energy. He praises Farooqi’s bowling style but notes that there is room for improvement.
Kane Williamson begins by congratulating Afghanistan on their victory. He added that the opposition dominated them in all aspects of the game. I feel their batsmen have played beautifully on a tricky surface. We look at this loss and say we need to move on quickly as the games continue to come thick and fast in the tournament. The most disappointing part, he says, was the defense’s inability to convert chances in the first 10 overs. He also said that facing West Indies in the next match is a big challenge and he knows his team can play better.
