Living up to their playing-the-semi-final reputation, New Zealand marched to the 2021 T20 World Cup top four with an eight-wicket win against Afghanistan. New Zealand’s win shut the door on the qualification chances of both India and Afghanistan.
This was one of the most-followed games in the tournament, for the fortunes of three teams depended on the result. New Zealand’s win reduced Monday’s India-Namibia match to a dead rubber.
For the first time since the 2012 T20 World Cup, India have failed to qualify for the semi-final in an ICC event. It is also the first time since the 2007 ODI World Cup that India have not progressed beyond the first round – though, technically, they qualified for the Super 12s directly here.
New Zealand, on the other hand, qualified for their third T20 World Cup semi-final, after 2007 and 2016. Overall, this will be their 14th semi-final appearance in ICC tournaments. They are only behind India (15), Pakistan (15) and Australia (16) in this respect.
New Zealand’s win was set up by their pacers inside the Powerplay and at the death. They were partly helped by poor planning and execution from the Afghanistan batters.
Chasing 125, New Zealand got home with nine balls to spare. An unbeaten 68-run stand for the third wicket between captain Kane Williamson (40* in 42 balls) and Devon Conway (36* in 32) saw them through.
Earlier, Martin Guptill (28 off 23) and Daryl Mitchell (17 off 12) got New Zealand off to a good start as they managed 45/1 in their Powerplay.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s return to the Afghanistan XI was less than eventful. He picked the wicket of Mitchell and went for 31 runs from his four overs. Rashid Khan was the other wicket-taker, conceding 27 from his four overs.
Trent Boult shines for New Zealand
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Afghanistan were off to a disastrous start and got their lowest Powerplay total in the tournament. Their previous lowest in Powerplay in the tournament was 47/2, against India. Here they got 23/3.
Najibullah Zadran kept the Afghan and Indian hopes alive with a 48-ball 73. His lone effort included six fours and three sixes. He was particularly severe on Mitchell Santner.
None of the other Afghan batters came to the party as they managed just 37 from their final six overs. Rashid Khan missed out on full deliveries, managing only two runs off the final over of the innings, bowled by Jimmy Neesham.
They scored only 31 runs in the final five overs, their lowest in the tournament. Before this game, they averaged over 11 in the last five overs throughout the tournament.
Trent Boult began the carnage for New Zealand, dismissing Mohammad Shahzad in the third over. He later picked the two most important wickets in the death, sending back the free-flowing Najib and Karim Janat.
Tim Southee (4-0-24-2), Adam Milne (4-0-17-1), Ish Sodhi (2-0-13-1) and Neesham (4-0-24-1) chipped in with ball, supporting Boult, the wrecker-in-chief (4-0-17-3).
Unless Pakistan lose spectacularly against Scotland, New Zealand will play England in the semi-final next week. England had eliminated them at the same stage in the 2016 edition. Jason Roy, Player of the Match that night, pulled a hamstring and hobbled off the field against South Africa last night.
The 2019 ODI World Cup final, between the same two sides, ended in a tie, followed by another in the Super Over. The two teams had to be separated on boundary-count
Brief scores: Afghanistan 124/8 in 20 overs (Najibullah Zadran 73; Trent Boult 3-17) lost to New Zealand 125/2 in 18.1 overs (Kane Williamson 40*; Rashid Khan 1-27) by 8 wickets with 11 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Trent Boult