ICC World Cup: NZ beat Afghanistan; win four successive matches
New Zealand have now won four matches on the bounce in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. The Kiwis defeated Afghanistan by 149 runs courtesy of a fantastic all-round performance. Fifties from Will Young, Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips helped NZ post a total of 288/6. Mitchell Santner and Lockie Ferguson starred for NZ to bundle out Afghanistan for 139. Here's more.
Seventh ODI fifty for Young
Returning to the lineup, Young made his mark with a fine 64-ball 54. He laid the platform for the Kiwi middle order to explode. This was his second consecutive half-century in the ongoing ODI World Cup. The 30-year-old then stitched a 79-run partnership with Rachin Ravindra, taking the tally beyond the 100-run mark. Young is NZ's second-highest ODI run-scorer this year with 702 runs.
A captain's knock from Latham
Latham slammed three fours and two sixes in his 68-run effort. He has raced to 3,918 runs at 35.29. He hit his 23rd ODI fifty, besides also owning seven tons. He registered his maiden ODI fifty versus the Afghans. As per ESPNcricinfo, Latham has 1,237 runs in Asia at 42.65. In India, the southpaw owns 596 runs at an average of 54.18.
Third ODI half-century for Glenn Phillips
Phillips was up to the task today against the Afghanistan bowlers. The dasher compiled an 80-ball 71 to help NZ post a total of 288. He along with Latham added 144 runs after they lost a few quick wickets. This was his third ODI fifty. His knock was laced with four boundaries and as many sixes. His tally includes 143 ODI runs in India.
Did you know?
Latham and Phillips's 144-run stand for the fifth wicket is now the second-best for NZ in ICC World Cup history. It's also NZ's seventh-highest stand for any wicket at the World Cup.
NZ batters scripted this unique 2023 World Cup record
As per Bharath Seervi, seven NZ batters have scored at least one 50-plus knock in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, the most among all the teams. Sri Lanka are second in this race as they have six players with 50-plus scores.
Lockie Ferguson shines for New Zealand
Ferguson was the pick of the NZ bowlers as he ran through the Afghanistan batting lineup. The speedster finished with 3/19 from his seven overs. Ferguson removed Hashmatullah Shahidi initially before removing Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the same over. He has raced to 95 wickets in 61 ODIs at 30.76. Ferguson now owns 27 World Cup scalps at 18.85.
Santner completes 100 ODI wickets
Santner was equally brilliant for NZ as he finished with 3/39 from his 7.4 overs. He is the 18th NZ bowler to accomplish 100 ODI wickets. The left-arm spinner removed Mohammad Nabi before scalping the likes of Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi. He has 102 wickets at 36.04. As per ESPNcricinfo, in 18 matches on Asian soil, Santner has claimed 21 scalps at 36.66.
Boult equals Srinath and Zak
Trent Boult removed Ibrahim Zadran upfront. Later, he dismissed Azmatullah Omarzai with another fine delivery. Boult has now claimed 202 wickets in 108 ODIs at 23.69. The left-arm pacer has 44 ODI World Cup scalps, equaling former Indian duo Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan.
How did the match pan out?
Batting first, the likes of Young, Latham, and Phillips slammed crucial half-centuries. Latham and Phillips added 144 runs together before Mark Chapman added the finishing touch to propel NZ to 288/6. In reply, Afghanistan batters never got going and kept losing wickets. Rahmat Shah and Omarzai stitched the only 50-plus run partnership as the Afghans folded for 139 in 34.4 overs.
Unwanted record for the Afghans
Afghanistan's 139/10 is their second-lowest total in ODI World Cup history. Afghanistan's lowest score is 125 vs South Africa, Cardiff, 2019.
