Trent Boult – one of the trusted bowlers of New Zealand spilled just 3 runs and dismissed 3 batters in the final over against Afghanistan at Guyana.
New Zealand were scheduled to face Afghanistan on June 8 in Providence Stadium, Guyana to play the 14th match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. New Zealand has been in a trophy drought for a prolonged time and was one of the two teams to make a late appearance in the 2024 edition.
Trent Boult’s Impressive Final Over Restricts Afghans for 159
Afghanistan kick-started their T20 World Cup campaign with flying colours by beating Uganda by 125 runs while this will be the first game of the tournament for New Zealand.
At one stage of the game, the Afghans posed a great threat with their century-stand opening partnership but Kiwi bowlers bounced back in the death overs and restricted the run flow with their impressive bowling spell.
Apart from other bowlers, Trent Boult played a vital role in the game by dismissing 3 players for 3 runs. The wickets also included the dangerous Gurbaz who stood at 80 off 56 at his time of dismissal.
Though he had a lesser chance to score his maiden century of the tournament he can score some crucial runs in the final overs.
Boult dismissed Rashid Khan(6) in the very first delivery of the final over and dismissed Gurbaz(80) in the second delivery. Gulbadin who faced the third delivery of the over was saved by DRS after the ball was pitched outside leg stumps.
Boult bagged another wicket in the fifth delivery and gave just one run off the final ball. Boult ended his inning with a figure of 22 for 2 at an economy of 5.50.
Speaking of the game, New Zealand opted to bowl first after winning the toss, where Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran opened the inning. The duo added 103 runs for the first wicket and made an impressive start for Afghanistan. Gurbaz secured his second half-century of the tournament during the process.
Though they made a century stand for their first wicket their net run rate was not up to the mark. Afghanistan crossed the 100 runs mark in the middle of the 14th over which is nearly 7 runs per over.
Afghan middle-order batters failed to make an impact with the bat and fell cheaply for New Zealand’s quality bowling attack.
While Gurbaz was expected to score the first century of the tournament, the right-hander lost his wicket in the final after scoring 80 runs from 56 balls. With a couple of dismissals in that over, Afghanistan managed to score just 3 runs which made them finish their inning with a score of 159.
With the half-century, Gurbaz becomes the leading run-scorer of the tournament with a tally of 156 runs. Still, Aaron Jones‘ unbeaten 94 remains the highest individual score of the T20 World Cup 2024.
