New Zealand beat Afghanistan to maintain perfect start to ICC World Cup 2023

New Zealand thrashed Afghanistan by 149 runs on Wednesday to continue their perfect record in the ICC World Cup 2023. 

The Kiwis bowled out the chasing team for a meagre 139 after posting 288 runs on the board, thanks to half-centuries from Glenn Phillips, Tom Latham and Will Young. 

New Zealand batters starred once again 

The Black Caps once again provided an excellent batting display in Wednesday’s game at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. 

After Devon Conway’s departure on 20, Will Young and Rachin Ravindra put together a solid partnership, with the former hitting three sixes and four boundaries to complete his half-century. 

It took a magnificent delivery from Azmatullah Omarzai to bowl out Ravindra before the 23-year-old bowler dismissed Young in the same over. 

Afghanistan looked in complete control of the World Cup match when New Zealand were 110 for 4. 

But superb knocks from Tom Latham and Glenn Philips helped to bring the contest back in favour of the Black Caps. 

Philips hit 71 off 80 while Latham contributed 68 as the Kiwis reached an impressive 288 total. 

Afghanistan could have restricted their opponents to a far lower score if they were a little better in fielding. 

They dropped as many as five catches, with captain Hashmatullah Shahidi one of the worst culprits. 

Destructive bowling by Santner & Ferguson

Afghanistan, who had claimed a shocking 69-run win over England at the weekend, never looked to be chasing New Zealand’s target. 

None of their batters managed to play long as wickets kept falling regularly. 

Rahmat Shah scored the most runs for the Afghans, with the 30-year-old hitting 36 off 62 with only a single boundary. 

Six of their batsmen even failed to reach double figures as the whole team were bowled out for a humiliating 139. 

Mitchell Santner and Lockie Ferguson were the standout bowlers for the Kiwis, with the duo claiming three scalps each. 

Meanwhile, Trent Boult picked up two wickets as they won the match by an incredible 149 runs. 

New Zealand have gone to the top of the ICC World Cup 2023 standings with the latest victory over Afghanistan. 

They are now the top favourites to make it to the semi-finals of the competition. 

Don’t miss a moment of the action! Check out our cricket live streams page to follow the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.