 "Afghanistan cricket team")
In Match 14 of ICC T20 World Cup 2024, Ramanullah Gurbaz's 80 and inspirational bowling from Fazalhaq Farooqi and Rashid Khan helped Afghanistan beat New Zealand by 84 runs at Providence Stadium, Guyana, Providence on Saturday morning (June 8). This was Afghanistan's first victory against New Zealand in T20 Internationals.
Chasing the 160-run target, New Zealand were off to a horrid start as opener Finn Allen went back to pavilion off the first ball off Fazalhaq Farooqi. Devon Conway and Kane Williamson, then, tried to steady the Kiwis' ship but the Afghani left-arm pacer had different plans. Farooqi got rid of Conway and Daryl Mitchell as the Black Caps were left reeling at 28-3 inside five overs.
Check ICC T20 World Cup 2024 points table here
Check ICC T20 World Cup 2024 points table here
Captain Rashid Khan brought himself into the attack after the powerplay and made an instant impact. Rashid got rid of Williamson first and then Mark Chapman and Michael Bracewell off the successive deliveries as New Zealand tottered at 43-6 in the 9th over.
New Zealand never recovered and eventually bowled out for 75-10 with 28 balls to spare.
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| New Zealand Inning | ||||||
| 75-10 (15.2 ov) CRR:4.89 | ||||||
| Batter | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
| Devon Conway (WK) | c I Zadran b F Farooqi | 8 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 80 |
| Finn Allen | b F Farooqi | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kane Williamson (C) | c G Naib b R Khan | 9 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 69.23 |
| Daryl Mitchell | c Rahmanullah Gurbaz b F Farooqi | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 100 |
| Glenn Phillips | c R Khan b M Nabi | 18 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 100 |
| Mark Chapman | b R Khan | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Michael Bracewell | lbw b R Khan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mitchell Santner | b M Nabi | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 50 |
| Matt Henry | Not out | 12 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 70.59 |
| Lockie Ferguson | c & b R Khan | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
| Trent Boult | Not out | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 42.86 |
| Extras | 10 (b 0, Ib 5, w 5, nb 0, p 0) | |||||
| Total | 75 (10 wkts, 15.2 Ov) | |||||
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | WD | ECO |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi | 3.2 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 5.1 |
| Mohammad Nabi | 4 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Naveen ul Haq | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3.33 |
| Rashid Khan | 4 | 0 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 4.25 |
| Noor Ahmad | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Check ICC T20 World Cup 2024 full schedule, match timings (IST) here
Earlier, the Kiwis conceded just 55 runs off the first ten overs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran upped the ante after that as they smashed five sixes in the next 14 balls with three of them coming in an over off Bracewell.
Matt Henry broke the century opening stand and Azmatullah Omarzai played a little cameo coming in at three. Gurbaz struck two massive sixes in the penultimate over but Boult was brilliant in the final over.
| Afghanistan Inning | ||||||
| 159-6 (20 ov) CRR:7.95 | ||||||
| Batter | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK) | b T Boult | 80 | 56 | 5 | 5 | 142.86 |
| Ibrahim Zadran | b M Henry | 44 | 41 | 3 | 2 | 107.32 |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | c L Ferguson b M Henry | 22 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 169.23 |
| Mohammad Nabi | c K Williamson b L Ferguson | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rashid Khan (C) | runout (T Boult / D Conway) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 120 |
| Karim Janat | Not out | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Gulbadin Naib | c G Phillips b T Boult | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Najibullah Zadran | Not out | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Extras | 5 (b 0, Ib 5, w 0, nb 0, p 0) | |||||
