Afghanistan scored 124-8 in 20 overs and the Kiwis scored 125-2 in 18.1 overs as the duo of Devon Conway and Kane Williamson ensured victory.
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New Zealand recorded a comfortable victory over Afghanistan Sunday to confirm their place in the semi-finals of the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The result means that India have been eliminated from the competition and will play their final game against Namibia on Monday. Afghanistan scored 124-8 in 20 overs in the first innings and the Kiwis scored 125-2 in 18.1 overs. The duo of Devon Conway and skipper Kane Williamson ensured victory for the Kiwis and their place in the semis. Spinner Rashid Khan reached a personal milestone on the day as he picked his career’s 400th T20 wicket. However, it was not enough to beat a New Zealand team that was just too good on the day.
The two Kiwi openers played decent knocks as they set the stage for Williamson and Conway to take the victory. Veteran batter Martin Guptill got his team to a great start as he made 28 runs off 23 deliveries in a knock that included four boundaries. His opening partner Daryl Mitchell also played a decent innings, scoring 17 runs off 12 deliveries in a knock that included three boundaries.
Williamson played without pressure on the day and took his time out in the middle. The Kiwi skipper scored an unbeaten 40 runs off 42 deliveries. Wicket-keeper batter Conway did a fine job of partnering his skipper as he was the morre aggressive of the two. Conway remained not out on 36 runs off 32 balls.
There were not a lot of positives for Afghanistan with the ball on the day. Spinner Rashid Khan picked a wicket to reach 400 T20 wickets, a very impressive and significant individual milestone. He finished with figures of 1-27 in four overs. Mujeeb Ur Rahman bagged a wicket as well and conceded 31 runs in four overs.
A disciplined and well-executed bowling display by New Zealand on Sunday saw them restrict Afghanistan to 124-8 in 20 overs. There was a time when Afghanistan was in big trouble at 56-4, but an incredible knock by Najibullah Zadran saw them reach a respectable score. However, it is unlikely that the Kiwis will fail to reach the target. The pace duo of Tim Southee and Trent Boult completely stole the show in the death overs as they finished the first innings with two and three wickets respectively. This match is vital in deciding the final semi-finalist of the competition, as the Kiwis will have to be wary of how India perform on Monday against Namibia should they fail to win against Afghanistan.
Zadran played an absolutely fantastic knock, being the lone fighter in what was an otherwise dismal batting display. The batter scored a monumental 73 runs off just 48 deliveries in an innings that included seven boundaries and three maximums. No one apart from him could make a meaningful contribution with the bat on the day. Gulbadin Naib scored 15 runs off 18 balls and skipper Mohammad Nabi made 14 of 20 deliveries.
Respect, however, must be given to the New Zealand bowling attack. Southee and Boult were in their best form again as they displayed exceptional fast bowling in death overs. Southee bagged two wickets in four overs and conceded only 24 runs. Boult was even more impressive, picking up three wickets in four overs for just 17 runs. Boult bagged the crucial wicket of Zadran.
Adam Milne, James Neesham, and Ish Sodhi picked one wicket each for the Black Caps on the day as well.
