New Zealand VS Afghanistan- Kiwis Were Phenomenal In Batting, Bowling And Fielding
New Zealand has got its fourth consecutive victory in the World Cup 2023 after defeating Afghanistan by 149 runs. Kiwi side set the target of 289 after batting first, While chasing the target the Afghanistan team was all out for 139 runs in the 35th over.
Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bowl at the Chepuk Stadium in Chennai. The New Zealand team had average start and lost 4 wickets for 110 runs.Then captain Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips formed a match winning partnership of 144 runs, Leading the score to 288.
New Zealand continue their unbeaten run in #CWC23 with yet another emphatic win in Chennai 👊#NZvAFG 📝: https://t.co/R2WCgfr1UR pic.twitter.com/GTsrXdBYh3
— ICC (@ICC) October 18, 2023
Average Start In Batting For Kiwis
New Zealand VS Afghanistan– The New Zealand team, who batted first after losing the toss, got off to an average start, Adding 43 runs while losing one wicket during the first powerplay of 10 overs. In form Devon Conway was dismissed after scoring 20 runs.
Following the fall of Conway’s wicket, the partnership of Will Young and Rachin Ravindra took charge of the Kiwi innings. They formed a partnership of 79 runs off 83 balls for the second wicket, with Will Young reaching his half-century in 57 balls.
Young, who opened the innings, completed his seventh ODI fifty and also marking his second consecutive half-century in the World Cup. He was eventually out after scoring 54 runs from 64 balls. At one stage, New Zealand had lost four wickets for 110 runs.
From there on, captain Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips construct a healthy century partnership, leading the team’s total beyond 250. They batted for a 144-run partnership off 153 balls for the 5th wicket.
Once again Tom Latham played a captain’s innings, scoring 68 runs from 74 balls, earning his 23rd ODI half-century at a strike rate of 91.89 while Glenn Phillips contributed 71 runs from 80 balls, securing his third ODI half-century. Phillips faced 80 deliveries, striking 4 fours and 4 sixes at a rate of 88.75.
The New Zealand team posted 288 runs for 6 wickets in their 50 overs, with half-centuries from opener Will Young (54 runs), captain Tom Latham (68 runs), and Glenn Phillips (71 runs). Naveen Ul Haq and Azmatullah Omarzai each took two wickets for Afghanistan.
New Zealand Vs Afghanistan- Afghanistan Innings
In response, the Afghan batsmen faced some early pressure right from the very first over from Kiwi Bowlers, with Trent Boult and Matt Henry displayed remarkable fast bowling form.
The New Zealand bowlers consistently delivered their balls in the right areas while maintaining tight lengths and build pressure on Afghani Batsmen. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was made to make a mistake and he handed his wicket to Matt Henry. His opening partner, Ibrahim Zadran, followed him shortly thereafter.
Rahmat Shah and Azmatullah Omarzai spent some time at the crease, but the they couldn’t handle the growing pressure of increasing run rate as the difference between the desired run rate and the current run rate continued to widen. The Afghan innings concluded after just 34.4 overs, resulting in a substantial 149-run defeat.
Rahmat Shah scored the maximum 36 runs for Afghanistan. Azmatullah contributed 27 runs. Apart from these two, no Afghan batsman could touch the 20-run mark.
Mitchell Santner and Loki Ferguson took three wickets each for New Zealand. Trent Boult got two wickets. Matt Henry and Rachin Ravindra took one wicket each.
New Zealand VS Afghanistan– With this victory, New Zealand has maintained an undefeated record of winning all four of their matches thus far. Their next challenge is against the host nation, India, on October 22 in Dharamsala. Meanwhile, Afghanistan is scheduled to face Pakistan in Chennai on October 23.
Kane Williamson could not play New Zealand VS Afghanistan due to injury
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has fractured his thumb. New Zealand Cricket confirmed this on its official account (X) on Saturday (October 14). Williamson was injured in the match against Bangladesh on 13 October. Due to which he retired hurt at the score of 78 runs and returned to the pavilion.
Tom Blundell has been called in as cover, although Williamson is with the team and could return next month. Tom Latham took over the captaincy in his absence.
Glenn Phillips Decleared As Man Of The Match
He said in post match interview “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.”
Kiwi captain Tom Latham Praised His Team
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.
Hashmatullah Shahidi, Afghanistan captain Shared His Views On Defeat
At this level, you have 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.
Points Table for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023
| Teams | Matches Played | Matches Won | Matches Lost | Matches Tied | No Result | Points | Net Run Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | +1.923 |
| India | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +1.821 |
| South Africa | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +1.385 |
| Pakistan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.137 |
| England | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.084 |
| Bangladesh | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.699 |
| Australia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.734 |
| Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.993 |
| Afghanistan | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1.250 |
| Sri Lanka | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.532 |