New Zealand defeat Afghanistan by five wickets

KATHMANDU: New Zealand defeated Afghanistan by five wickets in their opening group-stage fixture in Chennai on Sunday.

Batting first, Afghanistan scored 182 for the loss of six wickets in the allotted 20 overs. New Zealand chased down the target with five wickets and 13 balls remaining.

Although Afghan openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (27) and Ibrahim Zadran (10) made a slow start, Gulbadin Naib scored 63 off just 35 balls to take the score past 150 runs. Sediqullah Atal and Darwish Rasooli scored 29 and 20, respectively.

Lockie Ferguson claimed two wickets for New Zealand, while Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, and Rachin Ravindra picked up a wicket each.

In reply, New Zealand lost two wickets with just 14 runs on the board in the second over as Finn Allen (1) and Rachin Ravindra (0) fell cheaply. However, opener Tim Seifert scored 65 off 42 to steady the innings. He found support from Glenn Philps and Mark Chapman, who scored 42 and 28, respectively. Dary Mitchell and Captain Mitchell Stanter remained not out at 28 and 25, respectively.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman claimed two wickets for Afghanistan, while Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, and Ziaur Rahman picked up a wicket each.