T20 World Cup: Afghanistan faced New Zealand at the Providence Stadium in Guyana in Match 14, coming into the game fresh off a victory in their previous meeting. In an interesting change of events, the Afghans maintained their winning momentum by outlasting the New Zealanders in an encounter that ended up being pretty one-sided after Kane Williamson and company’s attempt to pursue down failed.
Afghanistan finished the first inning with 159/6 after being placed to bat first. The opening combination of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahimullah Zadran scored the most, with just one other batsman managing to reach double digits. Trent Boult was the main ball-wrangler, concluding his time with 2/22, which included the valuable scalp of a well-positioned Gurbaz.
Finn Allen was clean bowled by Fazalhaq Farooqi during the chase, ensuring that the Asian team left their imprint on the opening ball. After the Afghans denied the Black Caps any chance to rally in the game, they went on to win by an overwhelming 84 runs. Things only got worse from there.
Speaking Points
Afghans led from the start with the Gurbaz-Zadran century stand.
Gurbaz and Zadran were once again the key players in building a respectable score on a sluggish, twisting circuit. Despite the difficulties, both managed to score 103 runs when Matt Henry bowled Zadran for 44 (41) on the third ball of the fifteenth over. Gurbaz hit five boundaries and as many maximums in an 80-run knock that kept the scoreboard ticking over. Azmatullah Omarzai also made a significant appearance, appearing in 22 (13).
Farooqi and Rashid terrify Kiwis.
With Farooqi’s four-for, the Afghans made it clear that they are a team that should not be taken lightly. But captain Rashid Khan also took four wickets with the ball, demonstrating unbelievable skill. When the game was over, Farooqi and Rashid each had individual numbers of 4/17, which helped Afghanistan move up to the top of the table.
Winning skipper, Rashid Khan said:
One of our best T20 performances from us, especially against a big team like New Zealand. The wicket wasn’t easy to score, Gurbaz and Ibrahim batted really well, it was a superb performance with the bat, ball and the field. I’m really happy to be leading this team. I was fine with that (on the slow start), we scored 30 odd in the first six overs, we just chatted about going on from there, playing our natural game, keeping the scoreboard ticking and that’s what happened.
We knew anything around 160-170, we’ve the bowlers for these wickets – we just needed to hit consistent lines and lengths, Nabi’s second over, that was a positive, there was a bit of spin. If we use our skills, it’s tough to chase down 160 against us. The energy in the field, the effort, the running between the wickets was amazing. Win or lose, we just need to give our 100%, if we don’t give it, we’ll miss something.
I don’t worry about the result as long as we put in the effort. He has been giving us the base (on Fazalhaq Farooqi), the way he’s bowled in the two matches has been amazing, he’s very skilful, but he can continue to work on his bases and become even better.
Losing skipper Kane Williamson said:
Yeah, first congrats to AFG, they simply outplayed us in all facets. To get to that total on that surface, they kept their wickets and made a good score. We’ll have to put this behind quickly and get back to our next challenge. The boys did work hard in preparations for this match (on the lack of match practice), but it was hard and we need to move on quickly.
Games come thick and fast in this tournament. 160 was a tough chase, but we needed partnerships, the skills they had made it difficult for us (on AFG’s spinners). Our fielding was a let down, particularly in the first 10 overs, we had our chances and we didn’t use them.
We need to take a step in the right direction, we know we are better than this, we’ll have to go away and give ourselves the best chance going into the next match. We didn’t take our opportunities and it goes a long way in changing the outcome of the match. Once they had a score, their bowlers executed their skills well. We’ll have a talk about this and then look to come back well in the next match.
Player of the Match Gurbaz said:
Nothing is (more) special than this. We have been waiting for this victory for the last three years. We faced them and they beat us, finally we beat them. The trust and the belief was there from the very start. We had the trust that we can beat any team in this competition. The wicket was not easy, the total was very good, very happy. I was actually a bit frustrated, I didn’t start that well.
Ibrahim and I were discussing that we should keep calm and play some good cricket shots. We thought 130-140 would be a good total, but I played some good shots and Azmatullah played very good shots as well. Credit goes to the bowlers as well, they bowled very well against a team like NZ, unbelievable. This is a very good partnership (Ibrahim-Gurbaz) as openers.
We have a very good combination. Sometimes (if) it’s not my day, he tries to take on the bowlers. If it’s my day, I tell him to give the strike to me. The conversations go on. You have to encourage the bowlers, as a wicketkeeper, my job is to keep everyone active on the ground. I try to give some energy to the bowlers as well.
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