Slowly turning into one of the T20 World Cup 2024 title contenders, Afghanistan made it back-to-back wins on Saturday. The mighty Afghans began their campaign with a dominating win vs Uganda and then followed it up with another massive victory against New Zealand in Georgetown. Defending a target of 160 runs, Afghanistan bowled out New Zealand for 75 in 15.2 overs, as Fazalhaq Farooqi and Rashid Khan bagged four-wicket hauls.
Initially, Rahmanullah Gurbaz smacked 80 off 56 balls to take Afghanistan to 159/6 in 20 overs. The result left many fans stunned, as New Zealand are one of the favourites to challenge for the title. Reacting to the win, former New Zealand cricketer Mitchell McClenaghan took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and joked, "How do I report a murder in Guyana? #T20WorldCup24 #AFGvsNZ".
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Meanwhile, former India cricketer hailed the Afghans on the social media platform. He wrote, "100+ opening stand by Gurbaz and Ibrahim, Fazalhaq destroying the top order, then Rashid running through the middle order. Top notch professional display from Afghanistan! NZ on the other hand looked extremely under prepared and paid a heavy price. #NZvAFG #T20WorldCup".
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, former India cricketer hailed the Afghans on the social media platform. He wrote, "100+ opening stand by Gurbaz and Ibrahim, Fazalhaq destroying the top order, then Rashid running through the middle order. Top notch professional display from Afghanistan! NZ on the other hand looked extremely under prepared and paid a heavy price. #NZvAFG #T20WorldCup".
{{/usCountry}}Ajay Jadeja, who worked as Afghanistan's assistant coach/mentor for the ODI World Cup last year, said, "Not because I spent time with time and I am grateful to them. I think they are very special people as human beings There is something about them I have never experienced in most parts of the world."
Jadeja also revealed that he contacted Rashid Latif and asked for advice before joining them. Latif is a former Afghanistan head coach.
Meanwhile, former India cricketer Irfan Pathan also lauded Afghanistan and had some advice for them. "Well done Afghanistan on beating New Zealand. If their batting clicks regularly they can be very dangerous side in this World Cup cos their bowling is top quality in these conditions", he wrote on X.
Afghanistan's remaining two group stage fixtures are against Papua New Guinea and West Indies. Meanwhile, New Zealand's remaining group games are lined up against West Indies, Uganda and Papua New Guinea.