New Zealand suffered a humiliating 84-run defeat at the hands of Afghanistan at Providence Stadium, Guyana, on Friday (local time). The decision to bowl first didn’t yield the desired result for the Black Caps, as they failed to chase Afghanistan’s 159-run target. It is important to mention that this is Afghanistan’s first win against New Zealand in T20 World Cups.
Afghanistan got off to a decent start, as their openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, negated the Kiwi bowlers carefully and stepped on the accelerator pedal when needed. The dynamic opening duo added 103 runs for the first wicket, with Zadran falling just 6 runs shy of his fifty and falling prey to Matt Henry.
Gurbaz continued his merry ways, playing a scintillating knock of 80 runs off 56 balls—the highest individual score for Afghanistan in T20 World Cups. Azmatullah Omarzai’s 13-ball 22 runs at number three were crucial in accelerating the scoring rate. The middle-order batters departed cheaply in their quest for big shots, and the Afghan Atalans lost a flurry of wickets at the tail end of the innings, finishing with a total of 159/6 in 20 overs. 
Trent Boult (2/22) and Matt Henry (2/37) were impressive with the ball for the Black Caps, while Lockie Ferguson also contributed one wicket with an economical bowling spell.
New Zealand got off to a nightmare start with the bat, losing wickets at regular intervals from the word go. Fazalhaq Farooqi (4/17) and Rashid Khan (4/17) wreaked havoc with the ball for the Afghani side and skittled Kane Williamson and Co. for a mere 75 runs in 15.2 overs. Mohammad Nabi contributed a couple of wickets to New Zealand’s downfall, while Naveen-ul-Haq went wicketless but was very economical, conceding only 10 runs in 3 overs.
It was a dismal batting display by the Kiwi batters, as Glenn Phillips (18) and Matt Henry (12) were the only batters to score in double digits.
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Key Moments of the Match:
New Zealand’s Fielding Disaster
The Kiwi bowlers bowled in good areas and didn’t allow Afghan openers to free their arms in the first half of the innings, conceding only 55 runs in the first 10 overs. However, they failed to extract any wickets in the first half of the innings due to poor fielding by the New Zealanders. They dropped multiple catches and missed a few run-out opportunities as well, which allowed the opening pair to settle on the crease.
The ploy to employ Daryl Mitchell in the penultimate over backfired
Afghanistan were 140/3 in 18 overs, and Williamson introduced Daryl Mitchell in the match to deliver the penultimate over with the well-set Gurbaz on strike. The wicket-keeper batter pounced on the opportunity and greeted Mitchell with a 93-meter six. Gurbaz and Rashid Khan rotated strikes on the next four balls, and the former ended the over with a maximum, making it a 16-run over.
Boult’s brilliance in the final over
Trent Boult removed Gurbaz with a pinpoint yorker on the second ball of the final over of the innings and dismissed Gulbadin Naib with a slower delivery on the penultimate ball. He conceded only three runs in the final over, restricting Afghanistan to under 160 runs.
A dream start for Fazalhaq Farooqi
The left-arm quick has a knack of picking wickets with the new ball, and he proved it yet again. He befuddled Finn Allen on the first ball of the chase, uprooting the leg stump from the groove with a peach of a delivery. The left-arm pacer then removed Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell in successive overs to put the Black Caps in a spot of trouble.
The skipper gets the wicket of skipper
New Zealand were 28/3 in the fifth over of the chase, and all eyes were on the consistent performer for the Kiwis, Kane Williamson. However, this time around, the right-handed batter failed to rescue his team from a precarious situation as the Afghani skipper, Rashid Khan, trapped the Kiwi skipper on his first ball of the spell, putting the Black Caps in deep waters. The spin wizard then weaved a web around the Kiwi batters, extracting three more wickets for his side.
A humiliating defeat at the hands of Afghanistan has miserably dented New Zealand’s net run rate (-4.200) and has raised multiple concerns for them in this mega event. The Black Caps now nearly need to win all three matches to stand a chance of qualifying for the Super Eight. The Black Caps now nearly need to win all three matches to stand a chance to qualify for the Super Eight.
The Black Caps will face the mighty West Indies at Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad, on June 12 (local time). Afghanistan will be up against Papua New Guinea at Brian Lara Stadium, Trinidad, on June 13 (local time).
