The 23-year-old Afghanistan National Cricket Team wicket-keeper Ikram Alikhil grabbed a sensational catch to send the New Zealand National Cricket Team opening batsman Will Young packing in the 16th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai on Wednesday, October 18.
Will Young made his return to the playing XI after Kane Williamson suffered a thumb injury. Young made most of the opportunity he got and played a terrific innings for the BlackCaps. He smoked a brilliant half-century and provided New Zealand with a really good start in the match.
Young’s innings was cut short in the 21st over when the Afghanistan gloveman Alikhil grabbed a stunning catch behind the stumps. The Kiwi opener was back in the hut after scoring 54 runs off 64 balls, with 4 fours and 3 sixes.
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On the last of the 21st over Azmatullah Omarzai pitched a full-length ball outside off-stump and Young went for a drive. The BlackCaps batter was only able to get a thick inside edge that flew to the left of wicket-keeper Alikhil, who dived to take a one-handed stunner.
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The on-field umpires weren’t sure of the catch and they decided to send the decision upstairs. On the replays, it showed that Ikram Alikhil made no mistake and completed the catch brilliantly. Earlier, Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bowl first in the match. The Afghan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said that the reason behind their decision was the dew factor in the second innings.
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He also said that the celebration of the stunning victory over the defending champions England was over and now they are focusing on the rest of the games. He elaborated: “We want to bowl first, the reason is it might be dew factor in the second half. Discussion was there but we look at the opposition team and their strength also. We will look to restrict them to a low score. We had the celebration for that night but now it’s gone. The confidence we can take into this game. We are going with the same team.”
Ikram Alikhil’s sensational catch was one of the highlights of the match and it is sure to be remembered for a long time to come.
