Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran gave Afghanistan a start of 103 in 14.3 overs. It came off the back of the 154 the pair added against Uganda, thus making them the first opening pair to register two successive century stands in the history of the T20 World Cup.
With Rahmanullah Gurbaz contributing 80 off 56 balls, Afghanistan’s was an innings of two halves. They scored 55 for no loss in the first ten overs and 104 for 6 in the last ten, New Zealand, who had decided not to play any warm-up games, looked every bit rusty as their fielders dropped catches and missed run-out opportunities as they slumped to 75 all out.
Pitch and Toss
Warm again in Guyana but there is a slight breeze coming through. We are on Pitch No.2,with slightly skewed square boundaries – 77m to one side, 70m to the other. 84m hit straight down the ground. There is a little bit more grass on the surface and Simon Doull thinks it will aid the seamers a touch more. There will be a little bit of spin too.
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and chose to bowl with Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Rachin Ravindra and James Neesham are the four players to miss out tonight. Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan who will be batting first made one change replacing injured Mujeeb Ur Rehman with Noor Ahmed
Steady beginnings by Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Zadran after being asked to bat
Fortune was on Afghanistan’s corner early in the contest as they raced to 21 after two overs with three boundaries being scored off Matt Henry’s second over, two of them via edges. In the fourth over, a Mitchell Santner delivery even brushed the leg-stump but raced away to the fine-leg fence without dislodging the bails.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz was on 12 then and in the company of Ibrahim Zadran, he propped Afghanistan to a steady PowerPlay total of 44. Like Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Zadran too was reprieved when Finn Allen put down a simple catch at deep square leg.
Trent Boult found some swing in the opening over but Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim showed their intent by picking up three fours off Henry from the other end.
Both batters had luck on their side, too. Rahmanullah Gurbaz got a second life when he skipped down the track to Santner and missed the ball, which went on to brush the leg stump but the bails did not budge. In the following over, Finn Allen dropped Ibrahim off Henry at the deep-square-leg boundary.
That was not all. Gurbaz got another reprieve after being involved in a miscommunication with Ibrahim. Having taken off for a single, Rahmanullah Gurbaz had to retrace his steps and would have been run out had Conway not fumbled the throw.
Two balls later, New Zealand finally seemed to have found success when Santner pinged Ibrahim’s pads and umpire Kumar Dharmasena ruled it lbw. But the batter got the decision overturned on review as the ball was heading down the leg side. Immediately after that, Ibrahim hit Santner for an inside-out four as Afghanistan ended the powerplay on 44 for no loss.
A period of stasis and then a six deluge in middle overs
New Zealand strangled their opponents through the first part of the middle-overs phase as Afghanistan’s openers went through a 27-ball period without scoring a boundary. However, Afghanistan enjoyed more of the rub of the green with Zadran first surviving a run-out attempt at the non-striker’s end.
In the same Lockie Ferguson over, Rahmanullah Gurbaz survived after New Zealand failed to review an LBW decision. The Black Caps continued to be sloppy rusty on the field with even Kane Williamson putting down a catch. But the four overs post the PowerPlay brought Afghanistan just 11 runs.
The tide turned in the 11th over when Michael Bracewell was taken apart for three sixes after conceding just six runs from his first two overs. Both Ferguson and Boult conceded a six each in the following overs. Mitchell Santner (0 for 24) stemmed the deluge a bit and Henry cashed in by having Ibrahim Zadran chop one onto his stumps, ending a 103-run opening stand.
New Zealand went against the prevailing wisdom of not bowling an offspinner when two right-hand batters at the crease, and Michael Bracewell repaid that faith by conceding only six off his first two overs.
Lockie Ferguson was even more frugal, going for five in his first two. He could have had Ibrahim off a slower full toss but a leaping Kane Williamson failed to pull off a one-handed stunner at mid-off. That meant while Afghanistan remained unscathed, they had only 55 on the board after ten overs.
After being sent in, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran gave Afghanistan a start of 103 in 14.3 overs. It came off the back of the 154 the pair added against Uganda, thus making them the first opening pair to register two successive century stands in the history of the T20 World Cup.
Afghanistan’s was an innings of two halves. They scored 55 for no loss in the first ten overs and 104 for 6 in the last ten, with Gurbaz contributing 80 off 56 balls. New Zealand, who had decided not to play any warm-up games, looked every bit rusty as their fielders dropped catches and missed run-out opportunities.
Afghanistan’s charge briefly halted by an excellent 20th over from Boult
Azmatullah Omarzai played a useful cameo at the death, hitting two sixes in a 13-ball 22. Gurbaz continued to motor post his half-century and hit a pair of fours against Ferguson before cashing in on Williamson’s decision to bowl an over of Daryl Mitchell to cover for Bracewell by hitting the medium-pacer over long-on and long-off for two sixes, holding his pose on each occasion.
Afghanistan were set for a total in the range of 170 but Trent Boult produced a stunning final over giving away just 3 runs. First, Rashid Khan was run-out with Rahmanullah Gurbaz trying to get on strike. Boult then cleaned up the in-form batter for 80 with a searing yorker. Gulbadin Naib was the other batter to fall, miscuing a pull, as Afghanistan finished on 159.
Afghanistan had not hit a single six in the first ten overs, but there were five in the next three, including three in one Bracewell over as Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Bracewell stepped on the accelerator. The pair took the side past 100 in the 14th over. New Zealand finally broke through when Ibrahim bottom-edged a short ball from Henry onto his stumps, after having been hit on the grille on the previous delivery.
Promoted to No. 3, Azmatullah Omarzai played his part with 22 off 13, which included two sixes in three balls off Henry. Mohammad Nabi fell for a first-ball duck but Rahmanullah Gurbaz kept finding the boundary at regular intervals. However, a three-wicket, three-run final over by Boult kept Afghanistan to 159.
Farooqi rocks New Zealand early
The tone for Afghanistan’s target defence was set as early as the first ball of the second innings as Fazalhaq Farooqi produced a beautiful inswinger to castle Finn Allen. That brought two batters with very little T20 cricket under their belt in the middle simultaneously. Williamson and Devon Conway couldn’t land an immediate counter-punch and that was enough for Farooqi, fresh off a five-fer, to run the Black Caps ragged. He bowled an excellent slower ball that Conway chipped to cover.
To Daryl Michell, Farooqi went around the stumps and got a delivery to straighten from the angle and found the edge. Afghanistan could have had Williamson in the PowerPlay too but the New Zealand captain was reprieved on review by Umpire’s Call after shuffling across and playing (and missing) around his pads to a ball from Naveen-ul-Haq that jagged back.
Farooqi gave Afghanistan a dream start with the ball. With the very first delivery of the innings, he uprooted Finn Allen’s leg stump as the ball moved in late. In the seamer’s next over, Conway pushed at one that seemed to come slower off the surface and was caught at extra cover.
The decision to give Farooqi a third over in the powerplay brought further rewards. This time, bowling around the wicket to Daryl Mitchell, he got a length delivery to just straighten and take the outside edge. Gurbaz took a regulation catch to complete the dismissal and leave New Zealand 28 for 3.
It could have been worse for New Zealand. In between, Naveen-ul-Haq had rapped Kane Williamson’s front pad after the batter had moved across to play a delivery. Afghanistan sent it upstairs for an lbw review but the umpire’s call saved the New Zealand captain.
Rashid Khan joins the party as NZ got skittled out for just 75 runs
Afghanistan did not have to wait too long for Williamson’s wicket. Rashid brought himself on after the powerplay and struck straightaway as Williamson guided one to first slip. But Rashid was just warming up. In his next over, he dismissed Mark Chapman and Bracewell off successive deliveries to leave New Zealand on 43 for 6. Chapman went for a pull and got bowled; Bracewell was late to bring his bat down and was lbw.
Phillips was New Zealand’s last hope. He did hit a couple of boundaries but was soon caught at long-on when he tried to take on Nabi. That ended any hopes of revival New Zealand might have had.
Williamson didn’t last long after the reprieve. Rashid removed his Gujarat Titans teammate with his first ball – also the first post-PowerPlay delivery – with the Black Caps captain guiding a length ball straight to the lone slip fielder. In his next over, Rashid cleaned up Mark Chapman and had Michael Bracewell trapped plumb before the stumps with the next ball.
Rashid picked up a fourth wicket with the final ball of his spell when Lockie Ferguson chipped a tame catch back to the bowler. In between, Mohammad Nabi added two wickets of his own as Afghanistan didn’t miss the services of the injured Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who missed the game. Fittingly, Fazalhaq returned to finish what he’d started by taking the final wicket as New Zealand folded with 28 balls to spare.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Kane Williamson the loosing skipper 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.
Rashid Khan the winning skipper 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 skillful, but he can continue to work on his bases and become even better.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz Player of the Match for his 80 runs 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.
This is some demolition from Afghanistan. 160 was always going to be a tricky chase and it showed on the rusty New Zealanders. They’ve been woefully short of match practice in recent times and they simply crumbled under pressure. It all started with Finn Allen’s wild heave first-ball, Fazalhaq then sliced through the top-order with a 3-wicket burst inside the powerplay.
The middle-order was ripe for the taking, Rashid and Nabi didn’t need a second invitation as they helped themselves to a feast. Only Glenn Phillips and Matt Henry reached double digits, such was the humiliation, and the 84-run loss has put New Zealand right on the back-foot. Afghanistan ticked all the boxes in Guyana and they’ll leave the country with two wins and four points on the table.
Afghanistan boosted their Super Eight chances with yet another dominating win, this time thumping New Zealand by 84 runs in Providence. Having beaten Uganda by 125 runs in their opening match, they are now at the top of Group C with a net run rate of 5.225.
New Zealand, under severe qualification pressure now, will head to Trinidad to play the other big team in the group, West Indies, on Wednesday (June 12). Afghanistan, with their qualification hopes substantially boosted, will take on Papua New Guinea the following day at the same venue.
Afghanistan are on cloud nine, not only they’ve two wins on the bounce, they’ve a superb net run-rate and have almost one foot into the playoffs. On the other hand, this loss will hurt New Zealand and it means their next match against West Indies has become a must-win.