Afghanistan (159/6) secure an easy win against New Zealand (75) by 85 runs in ICC T20 World Cup 2024

That is more to do with poor bowling options from NZ. They just had santner. HE bowled well. Bracewell is a harmless bowler. He is no mystery bowler.
NZ was poor against Afghanistan’s pacers as well whereas Afghan batsmen played them rather well.
 
The only real T20 players in the kiwis team that played today are Finn and Mitchell. Both were out cheaply and the rest are not good enoughPhillips is good too.
That is more to do with poor bowling options from NZ. They just had santner. HE bowled well. Bracewell is a harmless bowler. He is no mystery bowler.
Thought it was more due to our fielding. Just really sloppy.
 
Conway and Williamson stifles that lineup. Last World T20, NZ lost to England and semifinal against PAK because of some shockingly poor batting by this duo. Only match they won was against Australia when Finn Allen gave a very strong start.
Bro, that's true but

FINN ALLEN, DARLY MITCHELL, CHAPMAN, GLENN PHILIPS ,all 4 batting like 8 year old was not expected.
 
Even Mitchell is not a good player on turning track. He struggled in the IPL as well. Chapman is a good player. But failed against most teams except Pakistan. Philips sis a good player. Rachin should always be playing for htem.
We should have played warm ups to see who is in form and would.be good in these conditions. As is we're using the GS matches to figure this all out. It's garbage planning from a team known for its meticulous planning.
 
We should have played warm ups to see who is in form and would.be good in these conditions. As is we're using the GS matches to figure this all out.
Ego costed them this tourney
 
We should have played warm ups to see who is in form and would.be good in these conditions. As is we're using the GS matches to figure this all out.
Warm up won't help. When India played Bangladesh in warm up they used part time spinners not main bowlers. So India gained nothing much.
 
We turned them down stupidly.

Everyone knows we're undercooked. There was a CI article on it like a week ago.

That's what I keep saying. For a high quality tourney, every team needs warm ups to get in the groove and it needs to be equal for everyone.
 
First round is supposed to be academic for most teams as it is easy to top the group. But NZ group is tougher because of Afghanistan.
 
First round is supposed to be academic for most teams as it is easy to top the group. But NZ group is tougher because of Afghanistan.
NRR will see WI through even if we beat them. Tournament is over for us and Pakistan.
 
Not if they lose to Afghanistan. You can beat WI on points. WI is a disorganized side. They play like minnows in crucial games.
Eh I don't want to qualify and be forced to follow with the Copa and Euros starting soon lol. This tournament blows.

Probably be good to crash out so we see some changes.
 
NZ vs WI - whoever gonna win the match goes to next round along with Afghanistan
 
NZ NRR has been nuked. Good thing is 2 wins are nearly guaranteed. Need to win all 3 and hope that AFB beats Windies as well.
 
You cannot keep these guys out of this world cup race. Afghanistan is definitely a team to watch out for. What an emphatic win this is.

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Afghanistan make an enormous statement, humbling tournament contender NZ

Afghanistan is daring to dream after putting on a cricketing clinic against powerhouse New Zealand. Here's how it went down in Guyana.

Afghanistan have made a statement in Guyana, putting ICC Men's T20I World Cup heavyweights New Zealand to the sword.

The Kiwis were outplayed in all aspects, as the Afghans continue unearthing T20 stars that have the nation daring to dream in the Caribbean and USA.

New Zealand gave Afghanistan lifelines in the field, which they would be made to pay for dearly, and suffered an uncharacteristic collapse with the bat.

After winning the toss and sending Afghanistan in, it swiftly became clear New Zealand was having an off night in the field and the plan was about to backfire.

The Afghan openers took advantage of multiple fielding lifelines – a missed stumping and fumbled run out from keeper Devon Conway, along with a dropped catch in the outfield.

Afghanistan got to the midpoint of their innings at 55/0 before really starting to open up the shoulders. Rahmanullah Gurbaz reached 50 for the second time in this tournament, as his partners up the other end pushed the pace.

Ibrahim Zadran struck three boundaries on his way to a handy 44 off 41 balls, before Azmatullah Omarzai added a fast-twitched 22-run cameo from just 13 deliveries – his dismissal finally saw the Kiwis take a catch in the field, through Lockie Ferguson.

Ferguson then made a contribution with the ball, removing Mohammad Nabi first ball. A mix up saw Rashid Khan depart soon after, before Gurbaz’s knock came to a close at 80 off 56. The Afghan opener would be handed Player of the Match honours for his batting efforts.

Despite reaching 150 inside 19 overs, the Kiwis closed well, allowing just three runs in the final over. New Zealand was set 160 for the win.

But the side's early efforts with the bat mirrored their shortcomings in the field. Fazalhaq Farooqi skittled Finn Allen first ball and the left-armer then had the scalps of Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell before the Kiwis were able to build any amount of momentum.

Farooqi took five wickets - for nine runs - against Uganda and picked up where he left off, nabbing figures of 17/4 off 3.2 overs, including the match-sealing dismissal.

Rashid Khan was also in on the act, collecting the prized scalp of Kane Williamson (9 off 13) with his first ball. He took two straight at the start of his next over, as Mitchell Santner had to deal with a hat-trick ball.

Khan took down Ferguson caught and bowled to finish with 17/4 off his four overs.

Glenn Phillips' run-a-ball 18 was the Kiwis' top contribution with the bat, as the side was all out for 75 runs off 15.2 overs.

It leaves Afghanistan atop Group C, two wins to start their campaign, and nearing a berth in the second round.

New Zealand, meantime, need to bounce back on June 12, taking on co-hosts the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago.

ICC
 
Captains of both teams speaking during Post-Match interview:

Rashid Khan
-

"One of our best T20 performances from us, especially against a big team like New Zealand. The wicket wasn't easy to score, Gurbaz and Ibrahim batted really well, it was a superb performance with the bat, ball and the field. I'm really happy to be leading this team. I was fine with that (on the slow start), we scored 30 odd in the first six overs, we just chatted about going on from there, playing our natural game, keeping the scoreboard ticking and that's what happened. We knew anything around 160-170, we've the bowlers for these wickets - we just needed to hit consistent lines and lengths, Nabi's second over, that was a positive, there was a bit of spin. If we use our skills, it's tough to chase down 160 against us. The energy in the field, the effort, the running between the wickets was amazing. Win or lose, we just need to give our 100%, if we don't give it, we'll miss something. I don't worry about the result as long as we put in the effort. He has been giving us the base (on Fazalhaq Farooqi), the way he's bowled in the two matches has been amazing, he's very skillful, but he can continue to work on his bases and become even better."

Kane Williamson -

"Yeah, first congrats to AFG, they simply outplayed us in all facets. To get to that total on that surface, they kept their wickets and made a good score. We'll have to put this behind quickly and get back to our next challenge. The boys did work hard in preparations for this match (on the lack of match practice), but it was hard and we need to move on quickly. Games come thick and fast in this tournament. 160 was a tough chase, but we needed partnerships, the skills they had made it difficult for us (on AFG's spinners). Our fielding was a let down, particularly in the first 10 overs, we had our chances and we didn't use them. We need to take a step in the right direction, we know we are better than this, we'll have to go away and give ourselves the best chance going into the next match. We didn't take our opportunities and it goes a long way in changing the outcome of the match. Once they had a score, their bowlers executed their skills well. We'll have a talk about this and then look to come back well in the next match."​
 
NZ crashing out means India is one step closer to winning. I wouldn't count out Pakistan yet.
Even Australia should get eliminated in 1st round or super 8s... These two teams (Aus & NZ) are biggest thorns for India in knockouts... Even if these two teams not play to their full strength and if India plays fully to their potential, they somehow bottle against these two teams! Other teams (like Eng, WI, Pak, etc) India may lose only if they have a bad day & bad luck...
 
Kane Williamson (New Zealand Captain) post-match Press Conference - 7th June 2024

[Reporter:]

How do you describe what happened there tonight, especially a bit of uncharacteristic in the field for New Zealand for a start?

[Kane Williamson:]

Yeah, I think for a start Afghanistan were outstanding. To execute a performance like that on a tricky surface, I know they were sort of 55-60 at 10 overs but 10 wickets in hand meant they had every opportunity to get a very good score. Our fielding didn't help our cause without a doubt. That would be the most frustrating part for me. It is something we pride ourselves on so that was very disappointing but that performance from us married up to an outstanding performance from Afghanistan meant that it wasn't good enough and they showed their skill today and we were outplayed.

[Reporter:]

New Zealand has been here about since May 23rd, you've only played your first match now, maybe over [inaudible] preparation on the match time, what other factors do you label what happened tonight?

[Kane Williamson:]

Yeah, I mean look everybody's preparation was different and for us it's just head down and focusing on what we can do and prepare as well as we can. And we certainly did that to the best of our ability. So, no excuses, but yeah, incredibly frustrating performance wise. I mean, Afghanistan were outstanding and we knew that that would be the case. They're playing really, really well. And the skill that they have certainly, well, across the board, but their bowling attack would be, in these conditions, one of the better ones going around I think or certainly in the top few so they were outstanding and for us it's moving on quickly we know we've got a match in a few days and it's about putting out a better performance.

[Reporter:]

You regret the decision to bowl first and the second question, what are some of the positives you will take out of this?

[Kane Williamson:]

Answer to the first one, no.

And answer to the second one, look, we're going to have to sit down and we are going to have to have a chat and review a little bit and then move on quickly and I think it's more reminders of what's important to what we do because the tournament is short from here on. I mean, it was mentioned we've been here for a long time, but we knew that when the games started, they'd be coming thick and fast. So, it's making some small adjustments, and we know we go to a different venue against a different opposition, so it's important we prepare for what's in front of us again.

[Reporter:]

Was Afghanistan very strong or you didn't play very well? And the second question, what was the target in your mind to limit Afghanistan?

[Kane Williamson:]

I think a bit of both. I mean certainly they're not the standards that we expect of ourselves, but take nothing away from Afghanistan, they were superb. And they've been building as a group for some time now and we're seeing performances like that from them quite regularly, so I think a bit of both. For us it's about reviewing our performance and looking to find areas that we can improve on. And like I say, the fielding element for us is important to our team, and it wasn't up to the standard.

I suppose it’s a moving target really, you might have an idea in your mind, but on a surface that offers a bit to bowlers – it’s a bit of – to get no wicket down after eleven twelve overs meant that they had a very strong platform to get to what was a good score on that surface and they did it's superbly well.

So yeah, I think looking at the surface maybe it was 150 taking your opportunities 140ish - like I said they played it really, really well, they know the skills that they have with the ball in hand and it was an outstanding blueprint from Afghanistan and like I said, we’ll review our own performance and know that we need to be a lot better.

[Reporter:]

The loss against Afghanistan here puts a lot of pressure on the clash against West Indies in Trinidad on a similar surface and they also have three spinners they're probably going to unleash against New Zealand. How are you guys going to pick yourself up and prepare for that kind of clash? I know there are other group matches but it really means you have to probably beat West Indies to get out of this group?

[Kane Willaimson:]

Yeah, I mean it's one match at a time and today's disappointing but a big part of this and in tournament sport it's picking yourselves up and moving on quickly and reminding yourselves of what's important to our game as a team and look to go out and be a lot better. We know how strong the West Indies side is as well, so all teams are threats, we've seen it throughout, the conditions keep changing in this competition and we've seen so many tight matches and that's the nature of it which is exciting in terms of a competition. But for us it's changing our focus, looking at some of the areas we can definitely get better at and moving on and look forward to putting out a stronger performance which would be important for us.
 
Club level display from New Zealand. A very bad defeat but they probably won’t be this bad again.
 
Afghanistan is a proper team in these conditions. They can take down any side except India.
 
Afghanistan is a proper team in these conditions. They can take down any side except India.
Australia is stronger. Your Indian support and kohli praise will end in tears when India doesn't win.
 
Australia is stronger. Your Indian support and kohli praise will end in tears when India doesn't win.
A lot of teams are stronger than Afghanistan on paper, but the key point here is the conditions.

Afghanistan’s spin attack makes them a massive threat to any opponent except India who are too comfortable in these conditions to lose to Afghanistan.

Australia is obviously stronger than Afghanistan, and should beat them more often than not, but Afghanistan can really push them to the max and even defeat them in white ball cricket in such conditions, and we saw that in the ODI World Cup as well where a once in a lifetime innings by Maxwell stood between Australia and a crushing defeat.
 
Please do not make any personal remarks here. Talk about cricket only.
 
A lot of teams are stronger than Afghanistan on paper, but the key point here is the conditions.

Afghanistan’s spin attack makes them a massive threat to any opponent except India who are too comfortable in these conditions to lose to Afghanistan.

Australia is obviously stronger than Afghanistan, and should beat them more often than not, but Afghanistan can really push them to the max and even defeat them in white ball cricket in such conditions, and we saw that in the ODI World Cup as well where a once in a lifetime innings by Maxwell stood between Australia and a crushing defeat.
Fun fact, Australia won
 
Fun fact, Australia won
As they should, but we learned from that game that Afghanistan can beat Australia in these conditions like they can beat most teams.
 
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As they should, but we learned from that game that Afghanistan can beat Australia in these conditions like they can beat most teams.
Fun fact: Australia won
 
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