GEORGETOWN (GUYANA), June 8: Skipper Rashid Khan and in-form left arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi grabbed four wickets each as Afghanistan stunned New Zealand by a whopping 84 runs in a Group C clash of the T20 World Cup here.
Chasing a tricky 160 at the Providence Stadium here, the 2021 runners-up were skittled out for 75 with just two batters — Glen Phillips (18) and Matt Henry (12) managing double digits as they lasted just 15.2 overs.
Farooqi and Khan returned with identical figures of 4/17.
Wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz, fresh from winning the IPL with Kolkata Knight Riders, gave Afghanistan a splendid star in a 56-ball 80 after New Zealand chose to bowl.
The opener smashed five sixes and as many fours as he along with Ibrahim Zadran (41-ball 44; 2×6, 3×4) put on 103 for the first wicket in 14.3 overs.
But however they could not finish well as Trent Boult (2/22) and Matt Henry (2/37) restricted them to 159 for six.
The decision to bowl after winning the toss backfired on the Black Caps as the Afghans relied on openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 56-ball 84 and Ibrahim Zadran’s 44 off 41 to post a reasonably good total of 159/6 in the low-scoring tournament.
Gurbaz was expectedly adjudged player of the match for his knock.
The triumph was a reminder of Afghanistan’s first big upset win in 2016 when they defeated West Indies by six runs in Nagpur after restricting the eventual winners to 117/8 in their defence of 123/7. (PTI)
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