ICC U-19 World Cup 2018: Afghanistan trounce NZ to enter semifinal

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Queenstown, January 25: Afghanistan beat New Zealand by 202 runs to storm into the semifinals of the ICC Under-19 World Cup at the Hagley Oval.

After opting to bat, four Afghanistan batsmen scored half-centuries - Rahmanullah Gurbaz (69), Ibrahim Zadran (68), Bahir Shah (67 n.o) and the incredible Azmatullah Omarzai (66 off just 23).

Having posted a mammoth 309/6, Mujeeb Zadran (4/14), the mystery spinner, and Qais Ahmed (4/33), the leggie, ran through the line-up.

Australia, who Afghanistan will meet in the Super League semifinal, would have taken note. In fact, the whole cricket-watching world would have taken a note. It was that sort of performance, from a bunch of boys sporting black armbands in memory of those that were lost in the recent attacks in Kabul and Jalalabad.

The New Zealand bowlers had a torrid time in the first innings, especially in the last five overs when Azmatullah's belligerence ensured 77 runs were added.

New Zealand never looked likely to meet the target, given the way they started. It was a collapse of mammoth proportions as they were flummoxed by the skill and guile of Mujeeb. They were 20/4 within seven overs.

The tail managed to sneak the total past the 100-run mark before Mujeeb and Qais completed the rout. It was total domination.