New Zealand on Wednesday brought Afghanistan back down to earth with a 149-run victory to stretch their winning streak in the Cricket World Cup.
Three days after stunning defending champions England, plucky Afghanistan briefly kindled hopes of another upset when New Zealand’s top order suffered a mini-collapse.
However, the 2019 runners-up went on to post 288-6 after skipper Tom Latham (68) and Glenn Phillips (71) smashed rapid half-centuries.
Photo: AFP
They benefited tremendously from sloppy fielding by Afghanistan, who floored four catches and blew a stumping opportunity as well to let New Zealand off the hook.
New Zealand were not as forgiving when they returned to defend their total and bundled out Afghanistan for 139 inside 35 overs to coast to their fourth successive win at the tournament.
“Another great performance,” Latham, leading the side in absence of injured Kane Williamson, said after his team soared to the top of the table. “We were put under pressure some times. The bowlers managed to take wickets when it was needed.”
Photo: AFP
Spin is Afghanistan’s strong suit and off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman set to work after they won the toss and elected to field.
Rahmat Shah dropped Will Young in the second over and it proved a costly mistake as the opener went on to smash 54.
Mujeeb then trapped Devon Conway leg before wicket for 20, but Afghanistan did not grab their opportunities.
Rachin Ravindra (32) got a lifeline when Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi dropped an easy chance at midwicket when the batsman was yet to open his account.
Ravindra got another reprieve when Ikram Alikhil squandered a stumping opportunity off Rashid Khan.
Afghanistan struck back claiming three wickets in nine balls, with Azmatullah Omarzai bowling a two-wicket over, to reduce New Zealand to 110-4.
Latham, who was dropped twice before he reached his half-century, combined with Phillips to raise 144 runs off 153 balls.
Mark Chapman then provided a breezy cameo of 25 not out as New Zealand plundered 103 runs off the final 10 overs.
New Zealand rattled Afghanistan early in their chase, dismissing openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran in the space of three balls.
Mitchell Santner then plucked a stunning one-handed catch to send back Shahidi, who fluffed his hook shot against Lockie Ferguson.
Afghanistan crawled to 94-3 at the halfway stage and lost both Rahmat Shah (36) and Omarzai (27) soon after.
Ferguson (3-19) claimed two wickets in his seventh over and Santner (3-39) claimed a couple in the next to put Afghanistan out of their misery.
“Very disappointed, because at this level you have to take those kind of catches,” Shahidi said. “The team otherwise was doing well, but our fielding let us down.”
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS