New Zealand 288 for six (Phillips 71, Latham 68, Naveen 2-48, Omarzai 2-56) beat Afghanistan 139 (Rahmat 36, Omarzai 27, Santner 3-39, Ferguson 3-19) by 149 runs
After inflicting a significant stir within the 2023 World Cup by beating defending champions England on Sunday, Afghanistan briefly harboured hopes of upsetting the 2019 runners-up too. But the New Zealand model of professionalism and expertise got here to the fore as soon as extra as they managed to maintain their unbeaten document intact to make it 4 out of 4 within the competitors.
Sent in to bat, New Zealand slipped from a snug 109 for 1 within the twenty first over to a not-so-comfortable 110 for 4 within the house of 9 balls. However, captain Tom Latham and the do-it-all man Glenn Phillips revived the innings with a 144-run stand for the fifth wicket. They had been additionally helped by Afghanistan’s sloppiness within the discipline with as many as six possibilities – 5 catches and a run out – going a begging as New Zealand racked up 288 for six.
Mitchell Santner and Lockie Ferguson then continued their wonderful run of kind with three wickets every as Afghanistan collapsed in a heap within the chase. Only Rahmat Shah and Azmatullah Omarzai put up a semblance of battle earlier than Afghanistan misplaced their final 5 wickets for simply 14 runs in 24 balls to be bowled out for 139 and go down by 149 runs in Chennai. The win not solely gave New Zealand’s NRR an enormous enhance but in addition solidified their place on the prime of the factors desk.
Source web site: www.espncricinfo.com
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