At Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium, New Zealand faced battle against Afghanistan in the tournament’s 16th game. The Afghan Atalans chose to field first after winning the toss. When given the opportunity to bat, New Zealand quickly moved from a comfortable 109/1 in the 21st over to a less comforting 110/4 in the span of just nine deliveries. However, the substitute skipper Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips led a spectacular comeback with a vital 144-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
They were also helped by Afghanistan’s fielding errors, which included five missed catches and one run-out opportunity. In the 50 overs allotted to them, New Zealand amassed a total of 288/6. After that, Afghanistan struggled to reach the goal right away, with Matt Henry and Trent Boult quickly removing both of the openers. After that, the Afghan team kept dropping wickets at regular intervals and didn’t really represent a danger to the New Zealand bowling lineup.
With three wickets each, Mitchell Santner and Lockie Ferguson continued their outstanding performance. Afghanistan only managed to muster some resistance from Rahmat Shah and Azmatullah Omarzai before losing their final five wickets for just 14 runs in just 24 deliveries, getting bowled out for 139 runs, and suffering a crushing 149-run defeat in Chennai.
With this victory, New Zealand not only greatly raised their net run rate but also cemented their position atop the standings for the competition.
POTM- Glenn Phillips said:
The Afghanistan spinners are incredibly talented and strong. Was really pleasing to see me and Tom go well in the middle after losing a few early. It was really good the way we batted here, especially on a dusty track here. Was great how we were able to take it down till the end and get the runs. We thought we’d be able to get 60 off the last 6 if we both were out there.
The way Chapman and Santner finished it off was amazing. Thought that around 250 would’ve been par. We’re in an environment where we keep working for each other and play as a team. It’s about understanding what you can do for your mate and him understanding what he can do for you. We understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses really well..
Winning Skipper- Tom Latham said:
A pleasing start. Another great performance. We were put under pressure some times. The bowlers managed to take wickets when it was needed. We had lost three wickets in a short span of time. We thought of regrouping. They bowled fantastically well. We managed to capitalize. Glenn played a fantastic knock. The first 10 overs were superb. Mitch Santner coming in and doing his job. Pleasing all-round performance. I guess on the back of some good performances, it is pleasing. We have India and then Australia. Hopefully, the momentum will continue..
Losing skipper- Hashmatullah Shahidi said:
At this level, you have to take those catches. The fielding was poor. We were a bit down because of that. Last six overs, a lot of runs scored by the NZ team. Before the 40th over, we dropped a couple of catches. We couldn’t stop the set batters. We tried but failed. The toss I can say, you can’t judge 100 percent when it comes to the pitch. The pitch was slow. We bowled well but the fielding was a concern for us. It will hurt us. We have more games to come. We will talk where we can improve and come back stronger in the next game.
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