New Zealand won the match against Afghanistan by a huge margin of 149 runs in the 16th match of the ICC World Cup 2023. New Zealand is now leading the table by 8 points with a healthy NRR. New Zealand has almost fixed their Semi-Final place if things do not go wrong for the Black Caps in the upcoming matches. New Zealand looks like a complete team with a powerful batting lineup, a superb bowling attack, and a good fielding side. It will be difficult for other teams to beat them.
Afghanistan won the toss and elected to field first which was a wrong decision. The Afghanistan team does not have to be too smart. For them the formula must be very easy, bat first, post a total on the board, and try to defend it with your spin mystery. They in New Zealand for batting to take wickets upfront but they couldn’t exert pressure at all. The only phase that belonged to Afghanistan was the quick wickets in the mid-inning of the New Zealand batting.
Another reason for Afghanistan’s failure is the fielding and missed chances. Afghan fielders almost gave a second life to every New Zealand batter. When you are up against such a quality side you have to grab even half chances. So, that is the main reason behind their huge failure today.
The top scorers from New Zealand were Will Young who was allowed to score 54 runs. Tom Latham made 68 with a healthy strike rate. Glenn Phillips was also key scoring 71 runs for 80 balls. Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Naveen Ul Haq, Rashid Khan, and Azmatullah Umarzai were among the wickets.
The top scorer from Afghanistan was Rahmat Shah who made 36 runs. Azmatullah Omarzai made 27 runs. New Zealand bowlers bowled brilliantly. Lockie Ferguson and Mitchell Santner were lethal. Both took 3 wickets. New Zealand is the hot favorite to claim the title.
