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Afghanistan acquired their place in the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2024 with a commanding 7-wicket victory over Papua New Guinea (PNG). The match, held at Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad & Tobago saw Afghanistan’s bowlers dominate, led by a stellar performance from left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Fazalhaq Farooqi’s double strikes
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan opted to field first, a decision that paid off as his fast bowlers quickly dismantled PNG’s top order. Farooqi spearheaded the attack, taking two crucial wickets after PNG captain Assad Vala‘s careless run-out in the second over opened the floodgates.
On the first ball of the third over, Farooqi bowled a length delivery just outside off, which did not swing back in but continued with the angle. Lega Siaka nibbled at it, and the ball took the outside edge. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, showing excellent athleticism, dived to his right to take a stunning catch. The very next ball saw Farooqi bowl another length delivery, which decked back sharply after pitching. Sese Bau had to play at it, and the ball grazed the inside edge. Gurbaz once again flew to his right, snaring another brilliant catch.
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Naveen-ul-Haq then joined hands with Farooqi to further decimate the PNG batting line-up. He rattled the stumps of Tony Ura and Hiri Hiri, reducing PNG to 30/5 by the end of the powerplay. PNG needed a period of consolidation, and Chad Soper and Kiplin Doriga managed to do that for a brief while, scoring 16 runs off 24 balls. However, a mix-up resulted in Soper being run out in the tenth over.
PNG’s struggle with the bat
Doriga attempted to stabilize the innings with some quick runs against Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad. Alei Neo also punished the seamers and added 38 runs off 34 balls with Doriga for the seventh wicket. Nevertheless, once Doriga was trapped lbw by a wrong’un from Noor, PNG’s resistance crumbled. They lost their last three wickets for just seven runs, eventually being bowled out for a modest 95 runs.
Afghanistan’s comfortable chase
Chasing a target of 96, Afghanistan was given an early scare but were steered home by Gulbadin Naib, who scored an unbeaten 49 runs off 29 balls. Naib’s aggressive knock ensured Afghanistan reached the target comfortably, registering a 7-wicket victory with 29 balls to spare.