NZ vs AFG, ICC World Cup 2023: How Latham And Phillips Helped New Zealand Recover To Post 288 In Pics

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Chennai, October 18: Skipper Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips slammed fifties to help New Zealand recover from a mini mid-innings slump to post a commendable 288/6 against Afghanistan in ICC World Cup 2023 match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday (October 18).

Apart from Latham (68) and Phillips (71), opener Will Young (54) also scored a half-century to ensure that the Black Caps posted an above-par total on a track where stroke-making isn't the easiest of proposition.

Put into bat first, the Kiwis lost opener Devon Conway (20) in the seventh over, with spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman trapping him leg-before. However, the pair of opener Young and in-form batter Rachin Ravindra (32) took charge and put on a convincing 79-run stand for the second wicket.

A chance to stump Ravindra was missed, but pacer Azmatullah Omarzai eventually broke the stand in the 21st over, cleaning up Ravindra off a straight delivery, as the batter attempted to swing it towards mid-wicket, but missed it completely in the process.

It was at this moment the New Zealanders had a brief collapse, losing Young and Daryl Mitchell (1) by the 22nd over to Omarzai and spinner Rashid Khan, respectively, as the score read 110 for four.

While Young had already scored his seventh ODI half-century, he was notably dropped in the second over by Rahmat Shah off Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Nevertheless, New Zealand managed to recover soon as skipper Latham and Phillips put up another fine stand that defined the tone for the rest of their innings. Phillips and Latham put on 144 invaluable runs for the fifth wicket and it could well prove to be a game-changer.

The duo also brought up their respective 23rd and third ODI half-centuries each, despite the Afghani bowlers keeping the Kiwi scoring rate in check. Phillips top scored with 71 in an innings that included 4 sixes and 4 fours.

As the pair began upping the ante and the scoring rate post the 45th over, the partnership was broken by pacer Naveen-ul-Haq in the 48th, with both the set batters departing in the same over.

But, there was still some work to be done, and it was Mark Chapman (25 not out) who came up with some late blitz, including two fours and a six, to ensure that the Black Caps went past the 275-run mark on this track.

For Afghanistan, Omarzai and Naveen were the stars with the ball, seizing a couple of wickets each, whereas Rashid was a no-brainer with his economical spell.

However, a total of five dropped catches did make things a bit hard for the Afghans, especially Rashid, who saw a couple of his chances go abegging.

(With PTI inputs)