NZ vs AFG T20 World Cup 2021 Highlights: India knocked out of contention; New Zealand win by 8 wickets to make semifinal

NZ vs AFG Highlights T20 World Cup 2021.

New Zealand vs Afghanistan Highlights: New Zealand have qualified for their 14th ICC semifinal as they defeated Afghanistan by 8 wickets in Abu Dhabi to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2021 final-four. With this result, India have been knocked out of semifinal contention and so are Afghanistan. In chase of 125 in 120 balls, New Zealand climbed to 45/1 in 6 overs. Despite Mujeeb ur Rahman removing Daryl Mitchell, Martin Guptill continued to attack. The Kiwis crossed 50 in the 7th over to stay on track of the chase. However, they were pegged back in the middle overs as Rashid Khan knocked over Guptill's stumps and dried up the runs to lead the Afghan fightback. Despite a few quiet overs, Devon Conway (36*) and skipper Kane Williamson (40*) stitched a match-winning 68-run partnership. In the first innings, after opting to bat, Afghanistan got off to a terrible start as they found themselves reeling at 23/3 after the Powerplay. The side lost their top three batters as Tim Southee, Adam Milne, and Trent Boult picked up a wicket each. Najibullah Zadran smashed a few boundaries to take Afghanistan past 50. Just when he looked like building a stand with Gulbadin Naib, Ish Sodhi castled the latter to leave Afghanistan reeling at 56/4 at the halfway stage. Then, Nabi and Najib stitched an impressive 50-run stand to set themselves up for a big finish and take the side past 100. In between, Najib brought up a T20I 50. Nabi and Najib (73) were dismissed in quick succession as Afghanistan posted 124/8 in 20 overs. Trent Boult finished with figures of 3/17 in 4 overs.