Afghanistan crush New Zealand in T20 World Cup

Afghanistan on Saturday, June 8, sprang a shocking result, crushing New Zealand by 84 in a Group C game of the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup at the Providence Stadium in Georgetown, Guyana. The Afghans scored 159/6 in 20 overs and then bowled out the Kiwis for just 75 in 15.2 overs on a difficult pitch.

Opening batsman and wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored 80 off 56 balls (5x4s, 5x6s) and added 103 for the first wicket with Ibrahim Zadran  (44 off 41).

Azmatullah Omarzai made 22 off 13 balls before New Zealand managed to restrict them to their eventual score of 159.

New Zealand have partly themselves to blame. Their fielding was below par. Wicketkeeper Devon Conway missed a stumping and a run-out opportunity. There was also a dropped catch in the outfield.   

New Zealand’s innings began in the worst possible manner with Fazal Haq Farooqi dismissed Finn Allen on the first ball of the innings.

Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell fell inside the powerplay while Kane Williamson fell on the first ball after powerplay as New Zealand found themselves at 33/4. They had already lost seven wickets by the half-way mark.

Both Farooqi and skipper Rashid Khan had identical figures of 4/17.

Khan, the captain said after the match, “This is one of the greatest performances from us in T20I cricket against a big team. It is a great team effort. The wicket was not easy. Ibrahim and Gurbaz did not throw away their wickets in period of 7-10 overs.”

Khan said that they knew that if they get anything in the range of 160-170, they’d stand in with a chance.

“Anything around 160-170 is enough. With the bowling unit we have, we will give tough competition to the opposition, as long as we hit the right areas consistently.”

I don't care about the wickets or the result, the energy around the group is what makes me happy. The way Farooqi has bowled has been amazing. He is a skilful bowler. Some things need to be improved but once he understands how skilful he is, he will be an even dangerous bowler.”

New Zealand skipper acknowledged the performance of the Afghans.

“To get a total like that on a fiddly surface, they kept wickets in hand and played beautifully. It was not good enough from us. Quick turnaround, we have to regroup quickly and onto the next challenge.”

T20 World Cup, Cricket, Afghanistan, New Zealand, Rashid Khan, Fazal Haq Farooqi