After a thumping 125-run victory over Uganda in their opening match, Afghanistan took on New Zealand in their second fixture of the 2024 T20 World Cup in Guyana on Friday night.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson called the coin toss correctly, and chose to field first. Afghan openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran made a solid start, scoring 44 in the Powerplay but they were helped by some average fielding by the Kiwis. Finn Allen and Devon Conway were the primary culprits, dropping a catch and missing a run-out respectively.
The scoring rate slowed to less than a run-a-ball by the 10-over mark but the batters stepped on the accelerator afterwards, taking off-spinner Michael Bracewell for 21 runs in the eleventh over. Zadran was eventually bowled by Matt Henry for 44, but Gurbaz batted on aggressively to score 80 before he was dismissed in the final over, having helped his side to 159-6.
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Afghanistan then got off to the perfect start with the ball, as Fazalhaq Farooqi knocked over Finn Allen off the very first delivery of the innings. The left-arm seamer took two more wickets in the Powerplay to leave New Zealand reeling at 28-3. Thereafter, it was time for the spinners to take over. Rashid Khan dismissed his opposite number Kane Williamson with his very first ball before removing Mark Chapman and Bracewell off the first two balls of his second over. He finished with four wickets, and off-spinner Mohammad Nabi took two wickets as New Zealand folded for 75.
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The Kiwis' lack of recent game time appeared evident in this match. Several players; Kane Williamson, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner and Matt Henry had limited game time during the IPL while Devon Conway made his return from injury after over three months out with injury. They had also opted out of any warm-up matches owing to the squad not getting together until very close to the tournament.
Result: Afghanistan 159-6 (Gurbaz 80, Boult 2-22) beat New Zealand 75 (Phillips 18, Rashid 4-17) by 84 runs.
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