Lockie Ferguson came to bowl the final over of powerplay and he struck for New Zealand not once but twice as New Zealand removed both openers to gain an upper hand in the match. Lockie Ferguson is an important cog in the wheel for New Zealand and he proved that why. Afghanistan got off to a steady start after opting to bat first as Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran opened the batting.
The Afghan team got themselves off to a sedate start and then accelerated to get to 35/0 in 5 overs with Gurbaz on 22* and Ibrahim Zadran on 10*. Things were going well for the Asian giants but New Zealand and Mitchell Santner had other ideas as they removed both the openers through Ferguson.
Lockie Ferguson’s double strike dents Afghanistan to end the powerplay.Â
Afghanistan were 35/0 in 5 overs when Lockie Ferguson came into the attack and struck gold straightaway. He got rid of the steady stable Ibrahim Zadran for 10 off 12 balls with 1 four to his name. Lockie Ferguson planned the wicket really well. He bowled from over the wicket a back of a length delivery outside the off-stump. Ibrahim got up on his toes and threw his hands at it.
He looks to cut it but fails to get on top of the bounce and ended up slicing it off the outer half of the bat to backward point where Glenn Phillips got across to his right a bit and snaffled it up with a reverse cap around his shoulders. Ferguson was pumped up as Ibrahim went back at the stroke of drinks break. Gulbadin Naib came to the crease and got off the mark with a triple. Gurbaz drilled Ferguson for a boundary through extra covers but the bowler hit back straightaway.
Afghanistan reached 44/1 in 5.5 overs as Ferguson got another wicket in the last ball of the powerplay as he dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz for 27 off 22 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name. Ferguson bowled a terrific slower ball full and around the off-stump as the ball curved back in from wide of the crease. Gurbaz got forward but got deceived by the change of pace. The ball took a bit of an inside edge of the bat and went onto crash into the stumps. Sediqullah Atal came out to bat next with the score of Afghanistan 44/2 in 6 overs.
Afghanistan who made such a promising start now had to go back to rebuilding mode to lay the foundation and set it up for the others to follow. New Zealand will be really happy with these two wickets that they have got at the end of the powerplay.
What Lies Ahead.Â
Afghanistan will look to get in a partnership build things up and if they have wickets in hand, launch towards the end. New Zealand will want to keep things tight in middle overs and then take wickets as well to make sure they are not chasing a huge score in Chennai. A big important phase is coming our way now. Let’s see which team seizes the opportunity from here.
The match is in the balance and even stevens as we approach an interesting phase of the game from here.
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