Istafa Ali
New Zealand beat Afghanistan by 149 runs in the match played at Chennai’s M. A. Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday, giving them their fourth straight win in the current World Cup 2023.
The Black Caps put Afghanistan in to bat first and set a score of 289 runs. Afghanistan failed to reach the score and was bowled out in the 35th over after getting 139 runs.
After today’s win, New Zealand has eight points and is in first place in the event points table. They have played four games and won all of them.
Trent Boult and Matt Henry hit Afghanistan hard early on as they tried to reach a huge 289-run score on Chennai’s tricky wicket, which also gave New Zealand batters trouble in the first game.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the Afghans’ star opener, never lived up to their high hopes. He looked lost against Henry and was bowled out for just 11 runs.
With 36 runs off of 62 balls, Rahmat Shah scored the most for his team. The other hitters couldn’t get anything going with the bat. Azmat Omarzai scored 27 runs, which was the second most in the game.
Afghanistan lost the game by a huge 149 runs because their whole team was out for just 139 runs.
Except for Glenn Phillips, all of the Black Caps’ bowlers did a great job. They all took at least one wicket.
There were three picks by Mitchell Santner, one each by Lockie Ferguson, Boult, and Rachin Ravindra.
New Zealand set a huge 289-run score when they batted first, and Hashmatullah Shahidi’s team only has themselves to thank.
Five times, Afghanistan’s fielders dropped catches, which gave Glenn Phillips and Tom Latham more chances. They saved New Zealand from being 110-4 and went on to score 144 runs together.
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Phillips got 71 runs off of 80 balls, and Latham added 68 runs off of 74 balls. Mark Chapman did the rest of the damage with a quick knock that scored 25 runs off of 12 balls with three fours.
After Omarzai took two wickets in one over, Afghanistan was in the lead. But they lost all of their chances when they dropped catches.
Afghanistan came into this game on a high after beating England by 69 runs, but if they lose, they could go back to where they were in the World Cup.
On the other hand, New Zealand will play India next, who is also unbeaten. This game could be the best of the event.
