The ICC World Cup 2023, Afghanistan, in outstanding form, defeated the Netherlands by seven wickets at the Ekana Sports City in Lucknow, India, on Friday.
Afghanistan beat Netherlands: For the first time in the tournament’s history, Hashmatullah Shahidi’s team won three straight games; before to this year’s major event, they had only won once in each of the previous two World Cups (2015) and 2019.
Afghans still have a chance to make the semi-finals after openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran were removed in the first overs. Rahmat Shah and Shahidi led his team to a significant victory.
After his side lost two early wickets and had scored 52 runs, Shah, who has already amassed 264 runs with an amazing average of 44 in the World Cup, came up again, teaming up with his captain to create a 74-run partnership.
In order to assist the Afghans chase down the 180-run mark in 31.3 overs, Shahidi (56) and Azmatullah Omarzai (31) stood until the very end. This helped them somewhat increase their net run rate (NRR).
“Dutch Struggle Against Afghan Spinners in T20 Cricket Clash”
When the Dutch batted first, they were most affected by Afghani spinners Mohammad Nabi and Noor Ahmed, who could only muster 179 runs in 46.3 overs due to their shoddy running between the wickets.
The Dutch had a rough start, losing their opener Wesley Barresi in the opening over, but they collected themselves and began to play some decent cricket, only to turn into their own worst enemies.
Max O’Dowd, Collin Ackerman, and Sybrand Engelbrecht—their three best players—were all run out after amassing 42, 29, and 58 runs, respectively.
The Dutch had a chance to score a respectable total, but their captain Scott Edwards was also out of the game from the first ball, leaving his team down 92-4 after 18.4 overs.
Afghanistan’s preferred bowlers were Nabi with three and the new player Noor with two scalps.
Afghanistan will now play another important encounter on November 7 in Mumbai against the form Australia, then on November 8 in Pune against the failing England.