Tim Seifert and Glenn Phillips helped New Zealand recover from a poor start to chase the challenging target of 183 runs with ease in their Group D match in Chennai. Seifert’s aggressive fifty itself was the main reason behind New Zealand’s five-wicket win over Afghanistan, which further strengthened their position in the T20 World Cup. Seifert (65 runs, 42 balls, 7 fours, 3 sixes) showed why people call him ‘Bam Bam’ in New Zealand cricket, and we are seeing his team win easily by crossing the target of 183 runs with only simple effort. As per the match situation, Seifert got good support from Glenn Phillips who scored 42 runs in 25 balls. Regarding the third wicket partnership, both players added 74 runs in 47 balls to help New Zealand recover from the poor start of 14 for two wickets. This run chase itself became New Zealand’s highest successful target in T20 World Cup history, further establishing a new record for the team.
TOSS-
Afghanistan surely won the toss and chose to bat first. Moreover, this decision reflects their confidence in setting a competitive total.
PLAYING XI-
We are seeing New Zealand team with these eleven players only.
Basically, the New Zealand team has the same eleven players with Finn Allen, Tim Seifert as wicket-keeper, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner as captain, James Neesham, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, and Jacob Duffy.
Afghanistan’s playing eleven surely represents their strongest squad selection. Moreover, this lineup includes their most experienced players for the match.
The Afghanistan team itself includes Rahmanullah Gurbaz as wicket-keeper, Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, captain Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and further features Ziaur Rahman Sharifi.
AFGHANISTHAN-
We are seeing that Afghanistan built their total only through a strong second half of their batting. As per the PowerPlay bowling, New Zealand’s fast bowlers showed good control regarding their line and length. Lockie Ferguson took two wickets in the sixth over to dismiss both opening batsmen. Ibrahim Zadran actually cut the ball loosely and it went straight to the point fielder. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was definitely beaten by a slower ball that came back and hit his stumps.
We are seeing Afghanistan at 72 for 2 after ten overs, and they needed to score faster only through Gulbadin Naib who came to bat at number 3. Basically, Naib smashed 3 fours and 4 sixes, taking important runs from Neesham, Phillips and Ravindra, and made the same 79-run partnership with Atal in 51 balls for third wicket.
Atal was actually dismissed after hitting a slower ball from Jacob Duffy in the air, but Naib definitely continued and made a good fifty from 30 balls. As per the match details, he got out to Ravindra regarding a top-edge shot that went back to the wicket-keeper.
Basically, the scoring picked up in the last overs when Darwish Rasooli made a quick 20 runs from 13 balls before getting out to the same slower delivery by Matt Henry. We are seeing Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi hitting three big sixes at the end to help Afghanistan reach 182 runs, but this score was only enough to give New Zealand two important points in a tough group that also has South Africa.
NEW ZEALAND-
Basically, New Zealand’s target looked much harder when Mujeeb Ur Rahman took two wickets in the same opening over. Finn Allen could not handle the fast ball and Rachin Ravindra missed the swinging delivery completely, which further put New Zealand in trouble with two wickets down in the first two overs itself.
Tim Seifert surely played an attacking innings that left Afghanistan without proper answers. Moreover, his counterattack created serious problems for the Afghan team. Basically, the opener who’s been batting really well took on the fast bowlers early and then played the same careful cricket against Mujeeb to stop Afghanistan from getting more wickets. Basically Glenn Phillips helped him make a quick fifty-run partnership that kept the innings steady and made sure the required run rate stayed the same and within reach.
We are seeing that Rashid Khan came to bowl only after the PowerPlay but he was struggling to control his bowling. Phillips actually hit a six straight down the ground against the spinner. The spinner definitely got Phillips out in his next over, but the 74 runs they scored in 46 balls already helped New Zealand take control of the match.
Seifert was dropped when he had 48 runs by Rashid off his own bowling, and we are seeing that he reached his fifty in only 39 balls with a flat six against Mohammad Nabi. He surely hit another six and a four in the same over before getting caught in the deep field. Moreover, this happened within the same bowling over.
Mark Chapman surely played a key role in keeping the chase on the right path. Moreover, his contribution was crucial for maintaining the team’s momentum. He surely handled Rashid and Mujeeb well, rotating strike smartly and hitting bad balls for boundaries. Moreover, even after Seifert’s excellent 65 ended while trying to finish quickly, New Zealand remained in strong control, needing only 59 runs from 43 balls.
Also, daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner actually finished the chase without any problems, definitely hitting the fast bowlers well at the end and winning with 13 balls left. We are seeing Rashid Khan giving away 36 runs in his four overs only, while Nabi bowled only one over and went for 18 runs as Seifert was hitting him hard.
Brief Scores:
Basically, Afghanistan scored 182 runs with Naib making 63, but New Zealand chased the same target easily and won by 5 wickets with Seifert scoring 65.
About the Author
