Afghanistan dominated New Zealand, a pre-tournament favorite, with an 84-run victory over them in a Group C match of the ICC Men's T20I World Cup, at the Providence Stadium on Friday.
Sides known for being organized, disciplined, and sharp in the field, New Zealand imploded after winning the toss and electing to bowl first due to the predicted inclement weather. It started with the spilled catch off a straightforward stumping chance, then a botched runout opportunity by keeper Devon Conway, and then a grassed catch off deep backward square leg. All these mistakes allowed Afghanistan's opening batsmen to get their team off to a good start.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the pick of the batsmen, struck his second fifty of the competition, scoring a fine 80 off 56 balls. Ibrahim Zadran gave him good company, making 44 runs off 41 balls, and Azmatullah Omarzai chipped in with 22 runs off just 13 balls.
Lockie Ferguson eventually broke the partnership with the wicket of Omarzai, but the damage was already done by then, with Afghanistan having crossed 150 in the 19th over and reaching 159/6 at the end of their innings after New Zealand tightened their fielding in the last over.
In their response, the New Zealand innings crumbled under the pressure of Afghanistan's bowlers. Fazalhaq Farooqi was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan with 4 wickets for just 17 runs in 3.2 overs, including the important wickets of Finn Allen, Devon Conway, and Daryl Mitchell.
Rashid Khan had then taken center stage by dismissing New Zealand captain Kane Williamson with his first delivery. Khan ended up with four wickets for 17 runs in his four-over spell, including a caught-and-bowled to get rid of Ferguson. There was no let-up from the bowlers of Afghanistan as no Kiwi could settle, Glenn Phillips top-scoring with an 18-ball 18.
Brief score:
Afghanistan 159 for 6 in 20 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 80, Ibrahim Zadran 44; Trent Boult 3 2-22, Matt Henry 2-37) beat New Zealand 75 all out in 15.2 overs (Glenn Philips 18; Fazalhaq Farooqi 4-17, Rashid Khan 4-17) by 84 runs.
