At the Providence Stadium on Friday, Afghanistan’s bowlers took full advantage of a field that supported both pace and spin to dismiss New Zealand for only 75 runs in 15.2 overs, sending their team to an 84-run win in the Twenty20 World Cup.
Afghanistan’s spin bowler and captain, Rashid Khan, claimed four wickets for seventeen runs in his team’s second convincing win of the tournament. On Tuesday, they thrashed Uganda by 125 runs at the same location, and are top of Group C.
Afghanistan amassed a decent 159 for six from their 20 overs after skipper Kane Williamson of New Zealand chose to field first. The opening pair, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (80) and Ibrahim Zadrau (44), put up 103 for the first wicket from 14.3 overs.
Trent Boult, a left-arm pace bowler, took the new ball with Lockie Ferguson starting at the other end. Boult gave up three consecutive boundaries to Zadrau, two of which were from streaky drives that sailed down to third man and fine leg, respectively.
Finn Allen dropped Zadrau on the square leg boundary when he seemed to loose a lofted hook in the lights with the batsman on 13.
After he dabbed the ball to third man, went off for a single, and was out of his crease when he was brought back, Gurbaz had already been given a let-off, but wicketkeeper Devon Conway was unable to collect the return.
With Afghanistan at 55 for two at the midway point, New Zealand would have been content enough, but then the two openers took it upon themselves. When speed bowler Michael Bracewell came back, Gurbaz smacked another six off of him after Zadrau had struck two sixes off him.
Matt Henry ultimately removed Zadrau from the game, and Henry also removed Azmatullah Omazari for 22 when he was caught by Lockie Ferguson. In the last over, Boult came back and took two wickets with a runout.
Finn Allen was bowled leg stump by a ball from Fazalhaq Farooqi that jagged back off the seam, putting New Zealand in peril from the outset of their innings.
With his opening partner Devon Conway eighteen behind him and Daryl Mitchell five behind him, New Zealand finished at a ridiculous 28 for three. In his opening over, Khan seized the ball and struck, getting rid of Mark Chapman for four and Michael Bracewell with his next ball.
After that, he got rid of his opposite number, Williamson was caught at slip, and after 15.2 overs—their second-lowest T20 score ever—New Zealand was eventually all out.
