Kiwis win to seal T20 World Cup semis spot

New Zealand have claimed the last semi-final slot of the Twenty20 World Cup with a comprehensive eight-wicket victory against Afghanistan in their final Group II match.

Their victory eliminates pre-tournament favourites India, who finish their group campaign against Namibia on Monday.

India needed the Black Caps to suffer an upset defeat but that never looked likely after New Zealand’s pace attack, led by Trent Boult (3-17) and Tim Southee (2-24), restricted Afghanistan to 8-124.

That itself was a recovery with Najibullah Zadran smashing a career-best 73 to rescue Afghanistan from a top order collapse at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

New Zealand romped home in 18.1 overs to become the second team from Group II, behind Pakistan, to make the semis. Captain Kane Williamson made an unbeaten 40 and Dean Conway 36 not out.

New Zealand are likely to meet England in the last four in a repeat of the 2019 ODI World Cup final, unless Pakistan suffer a shock defeat to Scotland later on Sunday.

Australia are also in the semi-finals.

Strong performance,” Williamson said after the game. “We know how dangerous this Afghanistan side is. Nice for us to be able to set the tone with the ball, take wickets early and then keep them to below-par total.”

“On this kind of pitch, this is not a decent total,” conceded Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi. “We tried our best with the ball, (overall) we played good cricket in the tournament and we will take a lot of positives. We need to correct the mistakes we made with the bat.”

Afghanistan finished the tournament with two wins from five games, with the victories coming against Namibia and Scotland.

Kiwis win to seal T20 World Cup semis spot
Independent Information