New Zealand's star spinner Mitchell Santner has been impressive with the ball throughout the World Cup so far, and on Wednesday, he produced an extraordinary effort on the field to solidify the Kiwis' position in the group match against Afghanistan. Santner's herculean effort helped Trent Boult dismiss Ibrahim Zadran, as Afghanistan lost their second wicket on just 27 in the 289-run chase.
On a delivery pitched at a good length and angled towards the leg stump, Ibrahim Zadran attempted to play a pull but mistimed it. He unintentionally hits the ball with the leading edge of his bat, causing it to pop up gently towards the fielder at square leg. Mitchell Santner, stationed at that position, moved backwards and took a brilliant one-handed diving catch to cut Zadran's innings short.
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The fans on social media were in complete awe of the catch, with many calling it the ‘catch of the tournament’ already.
{{/usCountry}}The fans on social media were in complete awe of the catch, with many calling it the ‘catch of the tournament’ already.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, Glenn Phillips, Tom Latham, and Will Young led New Zealand's batting with half-centuries, helping them reach a total of 288-6 against Afghanistan in Chennai. The Kiwis were once reeling at at 110-4 after being asked to bat on a slow pitch; however, Phillips contributed 71 runs off 80 balls, Latham added 68 off 74, steadying New Zealand's innings. In the final five overs, Mark Chapman played a quickfire innings of 25 off 12 balls, which included two fours and a six.
Afghanistan's fielding was far from perfect, as they dropped as many as five catches. This included Young, who was let off by Rahmat Shah off Fazalhaq Farooqi in the first over before he had scored, and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi dropped Rachin Ravindra when he was on zero and Latham when he was on 38.
New Zealand faced a slow start, reaching 30 runs in the seventh over when Mujeeb Ur Rahman dismissed Devon Conway for 20. Young, filling in for the injured Kane Williamson, combined with Ravindra to put on 79 runs for the second wicket, with Ravindra contributing a 41-ball 32. However, Afghanistan struck back by taking three wickets in just nine balls for one run. Pacer Azmatullah Omarzai removed Ravindra and Young in the same over.
Young's innings featured three sixes and four boundaries. In the following over, spinner Rashid Khan dismissed Daryl Mitchell for one, and New Zealand were in trouble.
Phillips and stand-in captain Latham then formed a solid fifth-wicket partnership of 144 runs, with Latham hitting three boundaries and two sixes. However, both Latham and Phillips fell in quick succession, and Chapman provided a late surge.