Cricket Cricket

'What a performance' - Fans react as New Zealand pacer Matt Rowe claims five-wicket haul against Afghanistan in Under-19 World Cup 2024

New Zealand U19 defeated Afghanistan U19 in a thrilling encounter by one wicket; Matt Rowe scalped 5 wickets just at the cost of 21 runs in 8 overs.

author-image
Mathew K
New Update
Matt Rowe, New Zealand U19; Men's Under-19 World Cup 2024 (File Photo: X)

Matt Rowe, New Zealand U19; Men's Under-19 World Cup 2024 (File Photo: X)

New Zealand U19 and Afghanistan U19 locked horns in the thrilling 11th match of the ongoing Men’s Under-19 World Cup 2024. Afghanistan U19 skipper Naseer Khan Maroofkhil won the toss and decided to bat first. Teenager pacer Matt Rowe shone for New Zealand; he bowled a sensational and unbelievable spell.

He scalped 5 wickets just at the cost of 21 runs in 8 overs, with an outstanding economy rate of 2.62, including 2 maiden overs. Besides Row, Ryan Tsourgas and Ewald Schreuder also scalped two wickets each for the Blackcaps. Other than these two, Oscar Jackson also bagged one wicket for his side.

On the back of these brilliant bowling performances, New Zealand managed to bundle out Afghanistan just at the score of 91 runs in 21.3 overs. Opener Jamshid Zadran was the only batter to touch the individual mark of 20+ runs, scoring 22 runs, with 4 fours. Other than him, it was only Arab Gul who scored in double digits, adding 10 runs with 2 fours.

New Zealand hold nerves to clinch a thrilling win

However, Afghanistan made a stunning comeback in the second innings and they were once on the edge of an iconic and memorable when they scalped 9 wickets of New Zealand, while the latter still needed two runs to win.

However, the unbeaten pair of bowling hero Matt Rowe and his partner Ryan Tsourgas held their nerves and pulled out a thrilling and exciting win for New Zealand U19. With this win against Afghanistan U19, New Zealand U19 registered their second consecutive win in Group D to move to the top spot of Group’s points table. Earlier in the tournament, they started their campaign with a win against Nepal U19 by a margin of 64 runs.

New Zealand U19 will now face Pakistan U19 in their last group match on Saturday, January 27, 2024, at East London.

Here’s how fans react to the brilliant performance of Matt Row:

Featured under-19 world cup New Zealand U19 Matt Rowe