U19 CWC: Afghanistan stun New Zealand to seal place in final four

New Delhi: Afghanistan routed hosts New Zealand by 202 runs to steer into the semi-final of the U19 Cricket World Cup. The win also ensured Afghanistan’s maiden entry into the semi-final of the U19 World Cup.

After winning the toss Afghanistan elected to bat first. An opening stand of 117 between Rahmanullah Gurbaz (69) and Ibrahim Zadran (68) gave the team a solid start. There were no individual heroics with the bat from the Afghan team, but regular partnerships helped the Afghans eye for a big score. Towards the end of the innings, quick-fire 66 off 24 balls by Azmatullah Omarzai helped the team sail pass the 300-run mark. At the end of designated 50 overs Afghanistan managed 309 for the loss of 6 wickets.

The hosts bowling looked rusty and all bowlers got a bashing from the Afghan batsmen. Sandeep Patel turned out to be the best bowler for the Kiwis grabbing 2 wickets.

Chasing a steep total, the Kiwis went off to a horrendous start. The hosts lost early wickets and at one stage were struggling at 20 for 4. Although Katene Clarke (38) and Dale Phillips (31) showed some resilience in the middle-order but eventually succumbed to the leg-spinners of Qais Ahmad.  The leggie took 4 crucial wickets for his team. At the end the Kiwis got bundled out for 107 in 28.1 overs.

Afghanistan captain Naveen-ul-Haq post-match said that it was a great day for his country. "It is a historic day for us reaching the semi-finals but the job is not done yet. We have a good bunch of spinners who can win matches for us. Our plan in the morning (was to) win the toss, bat first, put up a good total and defend it with our spinners. We have a lot of match-winners. We will do our best to win our next match against Australia," said Naveen.

The result now means that three Asian sides will be in the semi-finals since Pakistan have already qualified and await the winners of the match between two other South Asian teams -India and Bangladesh, who play the last quarter-final on Friday in Queenstown.