Afghanistan has defeated New Zealand by 84 runs in their first game of the T20 World Cup, thanks to a stellar performance by Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran.
The match took place on Friday and placed Afghanistan at the top of Group C.
Afghanistan, batting first, set a total of 159-6 with Gurbaz and Ibrahim forming a century stand, scoring 103 for the first wicket.
New Zealand, having won the toss, struggled to respond and were bowled out for 75 runs in the 16th over. This was New Zealand’s fourth-lowest total in T20 cricket. Fazalhaq Farooqi and Rashid Khan were the standout bowlers for Afghanistan, each taking 4 wickets for 17 runs.
Gurbaz and Ibrahim’s performance was notable as they became the third pair in T20 World Cup history to post back-to-back century partnerships. Gurbaz scored 80 runs off 56 balls, including five fours and five sixes, while Ibrahim made 44 runs off 41 balls.
New Zealand, known for their strong performances in past World Cups, struggled due to a lack of preparation and fielding errors, including dropped catches and misfields. Their top scorer was Glenn Phillips with 18 runs.
Captain Kane Williamson acknowledged their poor performance, saying, “Afghanistan outplayed us in all facets of the game. From our perspective, it wasn’t good enough in terms of starting a tournament. Very frustrating.”
