Match Report
T20 WC: New Zealand Through To Semifinal With Win Over Afghanistan, India Knocked Out, Twitter Reacts
By Aditya Pratap - Nov 7, 2021 8:59 pm
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Afghanistan and New Zealand locked horns in a virtual quarter-final of group 2 match in the T20 World Cup 2021 in Abu Dhabi. India were wanting Afghanistan to win as it would clear their path for the semi-final.

Kane Williamson scored patient 40 runs

Mohammad Nabi won the toss and elected to bat first. Afghanistan brought Mujeeb Ur Rahman back in place of Sharafuddin Ashraf while New Zealand remained unchanged for this game.

Also Read: New Zealand picks 5 spinners in the squad for Test series in India

New Zealand pacers were on the mark from the very beginning. Afghanistan openers Mohammad Shahzad and Hazratullah Zazai found it hard to cut loose in the powerplay and both of them got out cheaply. Rahmanullah Gurbaz also fell cheaply as New Zealand reduced Afghanistan for 19/3 in 5.1 overs.

Gulbadin Naib and Najibullah Zadran partnered together to steady Afghanistan’s innings and but the former fell to Ish Sodhi. Mohammad Nabi and Najibullah added 59 runs for the fifth wicket and it looked like Afghanistan will pose a good total on the board. But wickets in the death overs didn’t allow them to go for the kill.

Afghanistan posted 124/8 in 20 overs where Najibullah contributed with 73 runs in 48 balls, which featured six fours and three sixes. Trent Boult picked three wickets for 17 runs in four overs.

In response, New Zealand had their eyes set on the target which would propel them into the semi-finals. Daryl Mitchell got out to Mujeeb inside the powerplay but other than that, New Zealand didn’t allow Afghanistan spinners to run riots. Martin Guptill went for a slog-sweep against Rashid Khan which brought his downfall.

Also Read: Sunil Gavaskar feels both Afghanistan and New Zealand will be under pressure

Kane Williamson and Devon Conway partnered together and ensured there were no other hiccups. Both batters stitched together an unbeaten 68-run stand to guide New Zealand home with eight wickets in hand and 9 balls to spare.

By winning this, New Zealand made their place in the semi-final and knocked India out of the T20 World Cup 2021.

See how Twitter reacted to this game;

https://twitter.com/fwildecricket/status/1457336274398978062