Staff Reporter.
New Zealand clinically beat Afghanistan by eight wickets to secure a place in the semi-finals of the Men’s T20 World Cup and eliminate pre-tournament favourites India.
The Black Caps join Pakistan in progressing from Group 2 and will likely meet England in the last four.
They were exceptional in the field, holding Afghanistan, who needed a win to maintain their own slim hopes, to 124-8.
Najibullah Zadran hit 73 from 48 balls but Trent Boult took 3-17 and the New Zealand fielders held onto three superb catches.
Although Daryl Mitchell fell for 17 and Martin Guptill 28, captain Kane Williamson hit a typically calm 40 not out as his side eased to victory with 11 balls to spare.
The win puts New Zealand top of the group table but unbeaten Pakistan would retake the position with victory over Scotland in their final group game, which begins at 14:00 GMT in Sharjah.
India, who required an Afghanistan victory to stay in contention after defeats in their opening two games, are eliminated before their final match against Namibia on Monday.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson: “It was a strong performance, we know how dangerous they are with match winners in all departments. It was a 150 surface, so we knew there were some big threats, so we tried to suck things up.”
New Zealand bowler Trent Boult: “The boys are in good spirits, there are big games coming up and we look forward to the semi-final. England have been playing some very good cricket, it’s an exciting challenge and we look forward to it.”
Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi: “It was the plan to put a decent total on the board, we did not start well and after a 50 partnership we did not finish well. We were 30 runs less than what we wanted.
“We played some good cricket [in the tournament], we take a lot of positives and work on it for the future games coming up.”