T20 World Cup 2024: Rashid Khan Led Afghanistan Secures 84-Run Upset Victory Over New Zealand. Captain Rashid Khan and left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi, who was in great form, took four wickets each as Afghanistan secured an astonishing 84-run triumph over New Zealand in a T20 World Cup Group C match at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. In 15.2 overs, the 2021 runners-up were all out for 75 while chasing 160 to win. Only two batsmen – Glen Phillips (18) and Matt Henry (12) – managed to reach double figures.
When chasing a challenging target of 160 in Providence Stadium, the 2021 runners-up were all out for 75 in 15.2 overs, with only Glen Phillips (18) and Matt Henry (12) getting to double figures. Farooqi and Khan both had identical impressive figures of 4/17. Earlier, in the same game, Trent Boult opened the bowling with the new ball from one end as a left-arm pace bowler while Lockie Ferguson did so from the other. During his spell, Zadrau hit three boundaries off Boult’s first three deliveries, two of them streaky shots flying down to fine leg and third man respectively.
When Gurbaz previously flicked the ball to the third man and ran, he found himself short of his ground as he turned back, resulting in a lucky break for him. Fortunately for him, wicketkeeper Devon Conway failed to gather the returned throw. Still, Afghanistan was fairly satisfied with their position at the halfway mark of the innings, with 55 on the board for the loss of two wickets against New Zealand.
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However, both openers then decided to take the attack to the bowlers. Zadran cleared the ropes twice off off-spinner Michael Bracewell, and Gurbaz smashed left-arm pace bowler Boult for another maximum upon his re-introduction into the attack.
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Matt Henry got New Zealand over the line when he bowled Zadrau. Henry claimed his second wicket after Lockie Ferguson caught Azmatullah Omazari for 22. Boult took two more wickets in the final over, along with a runout. Gurbaz said, “We’ve been looking forward to this game for the last three years.” He added, “They beat us three years ago in the World Cup when we played against them. At last, we’ve outsmarted them. From the word go we believed in ourselves and each other. On this wicket, we think we can beat any team in this tournament.”
New Zealand has been among the top contenders going into this competition after making it to the last six white-ball World Cup semis — both ODI and T20. Nevertheless, they came into their first game without any domestic friendlies and with several inactive players due to a lack of recent matches.
This unpreparedness also showed on the field, as the Kiwis missed chances, conceded extra runs, and fumbled frequently while fielding against their opponents.
