Afganistan Stormed into Super 8 by crashing PNG

Fazalhaq Farooqi, the left-arm bowler who is still in excellent form, and Naveen-ul-Haq led Afghanistan to a seven-wicket victory against Papua New Guinea, which also guaranteed them a spot in the Super Eight for the T20 World Cup.

Afghanistan overcame early nerves to smash the target of 96 in 15.1 overs, led by an undefeated 49 from Gulbadin Naib. PNG were packaged out for 95 earlier.

As a result of the outcome, New Zealand, the 2021 finalists, were eliminated from the ICC championship match. After two losses in as many games, the Kiwis are currently bottom of the standings.

The co-hosts of the competition Along with the Afghans, the West Indies have already qualified for the Super Eight from Group C with six points.

The two games that New Zealand has left to play, against Uganda and PNG, will now just be of academic relevance.

Afghanistan are through to the Second Round of #T20WorldCup 2024 after a comprehensive win over PNG 🙌

📝 #AFGvPNG: https://t.co/4x3oqLgw3x pic.twitter.com/8xFd4bC9xl
— ICC (@ICC) June 14, 2024

Returning to the play, Rashid Khan chose to bowl, and Farooqi got two wickets in two balls in his second over, finishing with 3/16 from his four overs.

With his current aggregate numbers of 11.2-0-42-12, he sits atop the bowling rankings for this tournament.

Naveen, his pace bowling partner, was the ideal help, returning with a meager 2.5-0-4-2 to help PNG be bowled out in 19.5 overs. In the last delivery of their innings, Semo Kamea was run out.

PNG’s situation would have been even worse if Afghanistan hadn’t let 25 more runs in, 13 of which were wides.

The Afghan bowlers, who have yet to let up 100 runs in this competition, put up yet another outstanding performance against Uganada (58 runs in 16 overs) and New Zealand (75 runs in 15.2 overs).

“It feels fantastic to go to the following round. Afghanistan’s first appearance in the T20I Super Eight. Captain Rashid Khan expressed his satisfaction with the boys’ performance, saying, “They have adjusted to the conditions very quickly, which is something I really like.”

Farooqi congratulated the squad, saying, “I’m proud.” I was in the IPL prior to the warm-up match. Unfortunately, I did not have any opportunities there. All I did was play one warm-up game.

“I just tried to keep things basic, but I know how to carry my body. If there’s movement or swing, I attempt to grab a few wickets. In the event that nothing materializes, I attempt to stick to my basic strategy of not pursuing limits “explained the man.

But Afghanistan faltered in their brief chase, as the hard-working PNG new-ball spinners Alei Nao and Kamea bowled both of their in-form openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (11) and Ibrahim Zadran (0), in the space of three overs.

However, Gulbadin Naib made sure that there was no more chaos by getting back to his normal self and leading the chase with a 36-ball 49 not out.

Naib took his time before stepping up and smashing four fours and two sixes. He had yet to score in double figures.

As Norman Vanua removed Azmutullah Omarzai (13, 18 balls) against the run of play, PNG continued to pick off wickets, but Mohammed Nabi remained composed and helped Naib, who completed the victory with a six over Chad Soper’s head.

However, before Assad Vala found himself out of his position, PNG got off to a strong start and demonstrated their determination while dashing between the wickets.

In addition to forcing the run out, Farooqi made an impact with the ball in hand, taking two wickets in a row to start his destructive rampage.

During the powerplay, Naveen let the ball speak for him, taking two wickets, including the vital removal of Tony Ura (11 off 18).

In the Powerplay phase, half of PNG’s batting lineup batted for thirty runs.

Just before the drinks, things became even worse for the Barramundis, despite Soper and Kipling Doriga’s efforts to raise the team’s total towards something manageable.