Afghanistan storm into Super Eight; New Zealand knocked out

 Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq set up the win by helping bundle out PNG for 95

Afghanistan 101 for 3 (Naib 49*, Kamea 1-16) beat Papua New Guinea 95 (Doriga 27, Farooqi 3-16, Naveen 2-4) by seven wickets

Afghanistan secured their place in the Super Eight and eliminated New Zealand from the men's T20 World Cup 2024 with a seven-wicket victory over Papua New Guinea in Tarouba.

The foundation for Afghanistan’s win was laid by fast bowlers Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq, who dismantled PNG’s top order, reducing them to five wickets inside the powerplay. Four run-outs further compounded PNG’s troubles, leading to their dismissal for just 95 runs.

Chasing 96, Afghanistan reached their target with 29 balls to spare, thanks to Gulbadin Naib's unbeaten 49. This victory marks the first time since 2014 that New Zealand has failed to reach the semi-finals in either an ODI or T20 men's World Cup. Afghanistan now leads Group C with six points and a net run rate of 4.230.

Naib Quells a Brief Spark from PNG

A target of 96 was manageable for Afghanistan. Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran had previously added century stands in each of their first two games, with Gurbaz scoring fifties. Consequently, the middle order had seen little action. However, PNG almost caused an upset on Thursday.

Semo Kamea, replacing vice-captain Charles Amini, nearly struck with his first delivery, trapping Ibrahim lbw. Although Ibrahim was saved by DRS, he was bowled three balls later by an inswinger from Kamea. In the next over, fast bowler Alei Neo bowled Gurbaz, who had charged down the pitch. PNG could have put more pressure on Afghanistan if wicketkeeper Kiplin Doriga had caught Naib's edge in the fifth over.

On a pitch with dry grass contributing to variable bounce, PNG had their chances. Azmatullah Omarzai’s dismissal to a low bounce delivery from Norman Vanua was an example. However, Naib, alongside Mohammad Nabi, steadied the ship and guided Afghanistan to victory without further issues.

 Vala Run-Out Triggers Collapse

PNG began their innings positively after being sent in to bat, accumulating runs without taking risks. However, the game changed when captain Assad Vala was run out in the second over. Attempting a third run, Vala’s bat was in the air as Gurbaz’s direct hit found the stumps. Had Vala grounded his bat, he would have been safe. 

This run-out initiated a collapse, and despite some resistance, PNG couldn’t recover, setting up a straightforward chase for Afghanistan.

Farooqi then did what he does best: flummox batters with swing. He had Lega Siaka caught behind by Gurbaz diving full length to his right and then, on the next ball, Sese Bau also nicked one behind.

When Naveen got Hiri Hiri to chop one onto his stumps on the first ball of the fourth over, PNG had lost four wickets in nine balls. Batting first on a used surface that hosted the West Indies-New Zealand clash just 24 hours ago, that was handing over advantage on a platter.

Doriga leads mini-recovery for PNG

When Naveen crashed through Tony Ura for his 50th T20I wicket, PNG were reduced to 30 for 5. PNG needed to bat a few overs safely at that point, and Chad Soper and Doriga did that for 24 balls while scoring 16 runs. But in the tenth over, both were guilty of ball-watching, which resulted in Soper being run out.

Doriga then used the slog sweep and sweep to rotate strike against Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad. Neo punished the seamers when they bowled on his pads. The pair was effective without being enterprising and added 38 off 34 balls.

Once Doriga was done in by a wrong'un from Noor to be trapped lbw, PNG lost their last three wickets for just seven runs

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