Afghanistan secured their place in the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup with a seven-wicket defeat of Papua New Guinea at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium here on Friday (IST).
The result officially ended favourites New Zealand’s hopes of progressing past the group stage.
Papua New Guinea were all out for 95 in 19.5 overs, with wicketkeeper-batsman Kiplin Doriga top-scoring with 27. In response, Gulbuddin Naib led Afghanistan’s fightback from an early setback to secure victory by seven wickets, scoring 101 in 15.1 overs.
Asked to bat first, PNG lost captain Asad Vala when Fazalhaq Farooqi made a good run to force a run. His impact was soon felt by the ball as he took two consecutive wickets before being run out and starting the next over.
Naveen-ul-Haq also joined the Farooqi party in the powerplay, taking two more wickets including the crucial scalp of Tony Ullah (11 for 18). PNG were 30/5 at the six-over mark.
Chad Soper and Doliga started to rebuild but things went awry just before the drink. There was a momentary miscommunication between the two that led to the second run of the innings. At the start of the 13th over, Norman Banua was extremely unlucky, struggling to score a short single. As he approached the mound, the corner of his bat dug into the pitch, resulting in a painful catch just short of safety, according to an ICC report.
Afghanistan were ruthless on the field as PNG conceded six runs, the most of any team in the tournament. Farooqi finished with 16-3 from his four overs. He was named Player of the Game for his overall performance in the innings. Chasing 96, Afghanistan lost Afghanistan openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the first three overs and ended the powerplay at 39/2.
Despite losing a wicket in the ninth over, Gulbuddin’s Afghanistan inched closer to victory. They were 59/3, ahead of the run-a-ball target at half-time.
Naib accelerated further after drinks, hitting three more boundaries, including a game-winning sixer. He top-scored with an unbeaten 49 off 36 balls as Afghanistan chased the target and finished at 101/3 in 16 overs. Brief scores: PNG 95 (Kiplin Doliga 27, Fazal Haq Farooqui 3-16) in 19.5 overs lost by 7 wickets to Afghanistan 101/3 (Gulbadin Naib 49, Semo Kamea 1-16) in 15.1 overs.
