INDIA: Afghanistan lost Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz while chasing 180 runs. But on November 3 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi stayed at the wicket to guarantee a 7-wicket victory against the Netherlands with 111 balls remaining.
Scott Edwards, the captain of the Netherlands, won the toss and decided to bat first.
To maintain the Netherlands’ chances of winning, Logan van Beek and Roelof van der Merwe removed Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the openers. It was then that Afghanistan’s captain, Hasmatullah Shahidi, came onto the pitch.
Saqib Zulfiqar removed Rahmat Shah (52) in the fourth delivery of the 23rd over after he had reached his half-century. On the other hand, captain Hashmatullah Shahidi secured a 7-wicket victory against the Netherlands alongside Azmatullah Omarzai (31*), having also completed his 19th half-century.
Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, and Saqib Zulfiqar each took one wicket for the Netherlands. Afghanistan’s success helped them move up in the ICC Points table, where they now sit in fifth place with eight points and a (-)0.330 net run rate.
Afghanistan’s spinners performed a fantastic job of restricting the Netherlands to a meagre 179 runs. For his team, Noor Ahmad claimed two wickets, while Mohammad Nabi claimed three wickets. Four wickets were run out today because of the excellent fielding performance of the fielders, who were proactive and vigilant.
Logan van Beek and Saqib Zulfiqar were removed from the game by the outstanding spin attacks of Mohammad Nabi and Noor Ahmad. Roelof van der Merwe was the new hitter as the Netherlands came down to its final three wickets.
He was again removed by Noor Ahmad, bringing the Netherlands to their final wicket. Afghanistan’s bowlers had taken entire control of the game, taking out Colin Ackermann and Scott Edwards, the captain of the Netherlands. For a second wicket, Bas de Leede was again removed by Mohammad Nabi.
Both sides were playing for pride, but Afghanistan needed to win to maintain their spot in the top 4. A strong NRR is something that Afghanistan’s captain was aiming for, and Hasmatullah Shahdi wanted to win this game by a wide margin. Although they pulled off a victory by a good margin, they could not take their run-rate to the positive side.
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