Afghanistan produced a strong bowling performance for the third game running to register a comfortable seven-wicket win over Papua New Guinea at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba. By virtue of this result, Afghanistan officially booked their spot in the Super 8s. It also meant that New Zealand were eliminated with West Indies already having qualified after their win over the Black Caps.
Where was the game won?
Like Afghanistan’s previous two encounters, their bowlers once again caused the wreckage inside the powerplay, leaving PNG tottering at 30/5 after the first six overs. It soon became 50/7 and if not for a minor resistance from Kiplin Doriga and Alei Nao, the total could have been much more embarrassing. Afghanistan were made to work hard in the chase but they got the job done with relative ease.
Papua New Guinea
Powerplay: Undone by pace
Phase score: 30/5 (RR: 5.00; 4s/6s: 1/0)
The first ten deliveries of the PNG innings didn’t seem to suggest the carnage that followed thereafter. Fazalhaq Farooqui’s first over was a quiet one and Tony Ura greeted Mohammad Nabi with a cracking square cut first ball. However, a freak run out gave Afghanistan the first breakthrough with Assad Vala caught short. Farooqui and Naveen-ul-Haq then got into their work, striking twice apiece with the new ball to slice PNG open. There was some movement on offer and the uneven bounce made things tougher for the batters.
Middle overs: Run outs dent PNG further
Phase score: 46/2 (RR: 5.18; 4s/6s: 3/0)
Once the ball got softer, PNG were able to hang in there. They also managed to render Rashid Khan wicketless while also getting some runs off the Afghanistan skipper. However, gifting away two run outs meant that PNG were never getting to a respectable total. Chad Soper was the first of the two as he fell to a needless piece of running while Norman Vanua was unfortunate as his bat got stuck on the ground, thereby preventing him from reaching the crease. Kiplin Doriga and Alei Nao added some handy runs during this phase, aided by a plethora of extras.
Death overs: A quick end
Phase score: 19/3 (RR: 3.93; 4s/6s: 2/0)
With just two wickets in hand, PNG were never going to make any considerable acceleration at the back end. The only question was whether they could get the score past triple figures but they fell just short.
Afghanistan
Powerplay: Unusual start
Phase score: 39/2 (RR: 6.50; 4s/6s: 3/1)
After successive century opening stands, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran fell cheaply, giving PNG a glimmer of hope early on. Both fell to rash strokes, stepping out to heave, only to find their woodwork rearranged. To their credit, PNG’s new-ball bowlers kept it simple and created pressure on the batters by not giving easy scoring opportunities. Had Kiplin Doriga held onto a regulation take, Afghanistan could have lost their third wicket in Gulbadin Naib.
Middle overs: Naib takes Afghanistan home
Phase Score: 62/1 (RR: 6.77; 4s/6s: 4/2)
A low target meant that Gulbadin Naib and Azmatullah Omarzai could take their time in going about the chase. The latter was dismissed in unfortunate fashion as a nip-backer literally rolled through to castle him. Naib, though, batted flawlessly barring that dropped catch and in the company of Mohammad Nabi, wrapped things up with 29 balls to spare. As they got closer to the target, the duo got things done in a canter.
Brief scores:Papua New Guinea 95 in 19.5 overs (Kiplin Doriga 27; Fazalhaq Farooqui 3-16, Naveen-ul-Haq 2-4) lost to Afghanistan 101/3 in 15.1 overs (Gulbadin Naib 49*; Semo Kamea 1-16) by seven wickets
What’s next?
Afghanistan next take on West Indies in what is an inconsequential game with both teams having made it to the Super 8s. Papua New Guinea, meanwhile, take on New Zealand in their final fixture of the tournament.
