CHENNAI (Dunya News) – New Zealand on Wednesday bagged a convenient 149-run win over Afghanistan in a group stage match of World Cup 2023 at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, India, on Wednesday.
Afghanistan were bowled out for 139 as they were chasing a target of 289 runs.
Afghanistan’s reply got off to a steady start as the two openers attempted to see off the big threat of Trent Boult and Matt Henry in the Powerplay.
But just as the pair looked to be getting set, two wickets fell in the space of three balls, with Henry cleaning up the key batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz for 11, and Boult having Ibrahin Zadran caught for 14.
The chase suffered another blow when Mitchell Santner pulled off a brilliant catch to remove the skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi for a conservative 29-ball 8.
Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi could score only eight runs while Azmat Omarzai made 27. After Omarzai’s dismissal, they lost quick wickets, suffering defeat at the hands of the Black Caps.
Mitch Santner and Lockie Ferguson took three wickets each while Trent Boult claimed two scalps.
Earlier, a strong middle-order partnership helped New Zealand set a challenging target of 289 runs. Tom Latham (68) and Glenn Phillips (71) smashed runs helping their side to put score on the board after Afghan bowlers held back Kiwis from maintaining a healthy run rate in early session.
Opener Will Young made 54 off 64 while his partner Devon Conway was finally trapped lbw by Mujeebur Rahman in the seventh over for 20.
Rachin Ravindra was bowled out by Azmat Omarzai for 32 and New Zealand lost their fourth wicket Daryl Mitchell in a quick session.
At this point Lotham and Phillips build a strong partnership for fifth wicket to boost the total. The former was removed for 68 by Naveenul Haq. Mark Chapman gave a boost to the total with 25 off 12 in final overs.
Earlier, news from the centre was that an inspired Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bowl first against one of favourites, New Zealand, in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Earlier Coverage
Afghanistan’s win over England brought a new sense of enthusiasm to the 2023 Cricket World Cup. Besides shaking up the points table, Afghanistan have shown that they can beat any side in the tournament on their day.
Afghanistan will take heart in the fact that in their first ODI win since July 2023, the side didn’t bank on one particular player to fire for them. Rahmanullah Gurbaz blazed at the top, Ikram Alikhil fought hard during the middle overs while the likes of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman made important all-round contributions.
Mujeeb played a big role in Afghanistan’s surprise win over England, with a brilliant cameo with the bat down the order and then picking up three important wickets. Two of these came in the middle overs, and derailed the England chase.
Adept at bowling across the innings, and a successful operative across conditions, Mujeeb will no doubt be expected to play an important role in Chennai as well. If the wicket turns out to be on a slightly slow side, his off-spin can prove to be more than handy.
However, New Zealand aren’t a side that will roll over easily. Despite yet another injury blow, in the form of losing Kane Williamson to a finger fracture during their Bangladesh game, the Black Caps have had an enviable run in the tournament.
All their three wins have come by a comfortable margin, and most of their players have shown great form.
With confirmation of Williamson’s absence for the next few games of the tournament at a minimum, pressure has increased on the New Zealand middle-order to deliver.
With an average of 50.52 in ODIs, Daryl Mitchell is a solid middle-order contributor for the Kiwis. He came into the World Cup on the back of a good run in England (196 runs at 65.33), and has shown good form in the tournament so far.
This showed during his 89* from 67 against Bangladesh, which included six fours and four sixes. New Zealand would hope that the batter continues his run in their second game at Chennai.
Squads
New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.
Afghanistan squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq.