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'Ab semi-final zyada duur nahin' - Fans react as New Zealand continue unassailable run in ODI World Cup 2023 with 149-run win over Afghanistan

New Zealand will now face the hosts, India in their next match of the ODI World Cup 2023. Both teams will play this match at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.

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Mathew K
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New Zealand beat Afghanistan by 149 runs (File Photo, Twitter)

New Zealand beat Afghanistan by 149 runs (File Photo, Twitter)

Afghanistan and New Zealand locked horns in the 16th match of the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday. The Afghan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and asked the Kiwis to bat first on the spin-favouring surface of Chennai.

Batting first, the top middle-order of New Zealand fumbled and they lost 4 wickets on the score of 110 runs from the score of 109 runs for the loss of one wicket. But then came the brilliant partnership between skipper Tom Latham and star middle-order batter Glenn Philips. The duo stitched an amazing 144-run stand for the fifth wicket.

Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips guide New Zealand to big total

Tom Latham scored 68 runs followed by typical ODI innings from Glenn Phillips, scoring 71 runs off 80 balls, with 4 fours and 4 sixes with the willow. 

On the back of these knocks following a half-century of 54 runs, scored by opener Will Young, the Blackcaps posted a very good total of 288 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in the allotted 50 overs. Naveen-ul-and Azmatullah Omarzai scalped two wickets each, alongside one wicket each claimed by Mujeeb ur Rahman and Rashid Khan. 

While chasing the target, the Afghanistan batters couldn’t survive against the New Zealand bowling attack, it was only the number three batter Rahmat Shah who scored 36 runs for his side; other than him, Azmatullah was the second batter to cross the individual mark of 20+ runs, scoring 27 runs, with two fours.

The New Zealand bowling attack led by the spin-pace duo Mitchell Santner and Lockie Ferguson bundled out Afghanistan on the score of 139 runs in 34.4 overs. Santner and Ferguson picked 3 wickets each for New Zealand, alongside 2 wickets claimed by star pace spearhead Trent Boult.

Other than these, Matt Henry and Rachin Ravindra also bagged one wicket each. Eventually, New Zealand won the match by a massive margin of 149 runs to stay unbeaten after playing four matches in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023.

Here’s how fans reacted to New Zealand’s mammoth win over Afghanistan: 

 

 

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