New Zealand have brought Afghanistan back down to earth with a 149-run victory to stretch their winning streak at the World Cup.
Three days after stunning defending champions England, the plucky Afghans briefly kindled hopes of another upset on Wednesday when New Zealand’s top order suffered a mini-collapse.
But the 2019 runners-up went on to post 6-288 after skipper Tom Latham (68) and player-of-the-match Glenn Phillips (71) smashed rapid half-centuries.
They benefited tremendously from sloppy fielding by Afghanistan, who floored four catches and blew a stumping opportunity as well to let New Zealand off the hook.
New Zealand were not as forgiving when they returned to defend their total and bundled out Afghanistan for 139 inside 35 overs to coast to their fourth successive win in the tournament.
“Another great performance,” Latham, leading the side in absence of injured Kane Williamson, said after his team soared to the top of the points table.
“We were put under pressure some times but the bowlers managed to take wickets when it was needed.”
New Zealand will take on hosts India in a mouth-watering clash between two unbeaten sides in their next match in Dharamsala on Sunday.
The Black Caps are on top of the table with a 4-0 record while India are also unbeaten after three games.
Spin is Afghanistan’s strong suit and off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman set to work after they won the toss and elected to field.
But Rahmat Shah dropped Will Young in the second over and it proved a costly mistake, setting a careless trend as the opener went on to smash 54.
Mujeeb trapped Devon Conway lbw for 20 but Afghanistan simply couldn’t grab their opportunities.
Rachin Ravindra (32) got a lifeline when Afghan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi dropped an easy chance at mid-wicket when the batsman was yet to open his account.
Ravindra then got another reprieve when Ikram Alikhil squandered a stumping opportunity off Rashid Khan.
Afghanistan struck back claiming three wickets in nine balls, with Azmatullah Omarzai bowling a two-wicket over, to reduce New Zealand to 4-110.
Latham, dropped twice before he reached fifty, combined with Phillips to raise 144 runs off 153 balls to steady New Zealand.
Trent Boult celebrates the wicket of Ibrahim Zadran of Afghanistan. (Photo by Alex Davidson-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
Mark Chapman provided a breezy cameo of 25 not out down the order as New Zealand plundered 103 runs off the last 10 overs.
New Zealand then rattled Afghanistan early in their chase, dismissing openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran in the space of three balls.
In contrast to the Afghans’ sloppiness in the field, Mitchell Santner pulled off a stunning one-handed catch to send back Shahidi, who fluffed his hook shot against Lockie Ferguson.
Santner’s spectacular athleticism reduced the Afghans to 3-43 and though they crawled to 3-94 by the halfway stage, they lost both Rahmat Shah (36) and Omarzai (27) soon after, making defeat just a matter of time.
Ferguson (3-19) claimed two wickets in his seventh over, and Santner (3-39) a couple in the next to put Afghanistan out of their misery.
“Very disappointed, because at this level you have to take those kind of catches,” Shahidi said.
“The team otherwise was doing well but our fielding let us down.”
Phillips attributed their strong run in the tournament to their philosophy of putting the team above anything else.
“The Afghanistan spinners are incredibly talented and strong and with losing a couple of wickets in the middle there the way me and Tommy went about it was really pleasing,” big hitter Phillips said.
“Our top order has done really well over the last couple of games, so to be tested in the middle is really good.”
It was a typical team effort by the 2019 runners-up, who registered their fourth successive victory – this time by 149 runs – to go top of the points table.
“We’ve got such a team-first mentality, everyone’s working for each other and thinking how can we make the best of the moments we’re in,” said the 26-year-old.
“It’s about understanding we’ve all got experience in different areas of the world, understanding what I can do for my mates and what he can do for me, just keep trusting each other.”
© AAP
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