T20 World Cup: New Zealand crash out of the tournament after Afghanistan beat PNG

Afghanistan’s (AFG) victory over Papua New Guinea (PNG) by seven wickets in Match 29 of the T20 World Cup 2024 knocked New Zealand (NZ) out of the tournament.

After opting to bowl first, Afghanistan were all over PNG as they bundled them for just 95 in 19.5 overs. In reply, Afghanistan chased down the target in overs

As a result, Afghanistan qualified for the Super 8 stages of the tournament knocking out New Zealand in the process. The Kane Wiliamson-led side had a disastrous beginning to the event as they lost their opening encounter against Afghanistan by a massive margin of 84 runs.

They further suffered a 13-run loss against the West Indies leaving them on the verge of being knocked out. The Kiwis are currently ranked on the last spot in Group C having a net run rate of -2.425. The semi-finalist of the previous edition will look to finish the tournament with victories against Uganda and PNG in their remaining fixtures.

Coming back to the Afghanistan vs Papua New Guinea Match, PNG lost their captain Assad Vala (3 off 2) in the second over itself as he got involved in an unfortunate run out. Fazalhaq Farooqi (3/16) further struck with the new ball to get rid of Lega Siaka and Sese Bau off consecutive deliveries for golden ducks.

Naveen ul Haq (2/4, 2.5 overs) also joined the party getting two wickets quickly to leave the opposition in all sorts of trouble at 30/5. Wicketkeeper Kiplin Dogra tried his best to stabilize the innings with his knock of 27 (32). However, he was trapped in front of the stumps by Noor Ahmad in the 18th over. PNG had four run outs in their innings which eventually bundled them out for 95 in 19.5 overs.

In reply, Afghanistan lost openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (11 off 7) and Ibrahim Zadran (0 off 7) with just 22 runs on the board. Azmatullah Omarzai (13 off 18) also departed cheaply leaving his team on 55/3. Following his wicket, Gulbadin Naib (49* off 36) and Mohammad Nabi (16* off 23) guided their team home in 15.1 overs and sealed a win by seven wickets to qualify for the Super 8s.