T20 World Cup 2024: Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi Rip Through New Zealand as Afghanistan go Top of Group C

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Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Rashid Khan shine as Afghanistan registered an 84-run victory over New Zealand in the Group C encounter of the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence, Guyana on Saturday (June 8).

After Gurbaz smashed 80 off 56 balls to take Afghanistan to 159/7, Rashid (4/17) and Fazalhaq (4/17) ripped through the opposition batting order to bundle New Zealand for 75.

Only Glenn Phillips (18 off 18 balls) and Matt Henry (12 off 17 balls) registered double digit scores as New Zealand posted their second lowest total in T20 World Cup history. For Afghanistan, Mohammad Nabi also claimed two wickets.

New Zealand may have thought they had the game in the bag at the half-way stage when Trent Boult bowled brilliant final over to keep the target as low as 160. But Fazalhaq dented their chances with early blows in the powerplay.

Farooqi, the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing tournament, struck in the very first ball of the run-chase to remove Finn Allen before removing Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell inside the powerplay.

Then came skipper Rashid, who also struck in his very first delivery as he dismissed his counterpart Kane Williamson to dent Kiwis chase even further. The leg spinner delivered a double blow in his second over to reduce the Blackcaps to 43/6.

Mohammad Nabi also chipped in with a couple of wickets before the wreckers in chief Rashid and Farooqi returned to finish New Zealand's chase at 75 all out in 15.4 overs.

Earlier, put into bat, Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran (44 off 41 balls) shared a second 100 plus stand in the tournament as Azmatullah Omarzai (22 off 13) also contributed to take Afghanistan to a challenging total on a tricky Guyana wicket.

For New Zealand, Trent Boult (2 for 22) and Matt Henry (2 for 37) topped the wicket-takers chart with 2 wickets each, while Lockie Ferguson claimed the only other wicket with one other disimissal being a run out.

With this win, Afghanistan moved to the top of Group B and got closer to Super 8 qualification, while New Zealand will have their task cutout with West Indies coming up next.