AFG vs PNG T20 WC 2024 Match Report: Afghanistan defeated Papua New Guinea by 7 wickets in Match 29 of the 2024 T20 World Cup to confirm a top-two finish in their group and book a spot in the Super 8 stage of the competition.
Afghanistan took on Papua New Guinea in a Group C contest at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad. Afghanistan won the toss and decided to bowl first.
AFG vs PNG T20 WC 2024 Match Report
On what is usually a spin-friendly track, the Afghan pacers wrecked havoc in the powerplay. However, the first wicket of captain Assad Vala was a runout, as he was unable to ground his bat during a triple.
In the third over of the game, Fazalhaq Farooqi took two wickets. Then, Naveen Ul Haq took a couple as well before the powerplay finished as PNG reeled at 30/5.
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The batters tried saving their wickets from this point, which resulted in the flow of runs coming to a screeching halt. In the next seven overs, Papua New Guinea scored just 20 odd runs and lost two wickets.
From here, Alei Nao and wicketkeeper Kiplin Doriga ticked the scoreboard a little and took their side to 88 runs before both lost their wickets. At the end, the whole team was bowled out for 95.
With an easy total to chase to qualify for the Super 8, Afghanistan did not get off to a fine start as Ibrahim Zadran was bowled by medium-pacer Semo Kamea in the second over. Earlier in the over, he had been given out via LBW, but the decision was overturned by the DRS.
No worries, Afghanistan has a deep batting order, and, oh well, in form Rahmanullah Gurbaz was bowled within the powerplay too, this time by Alei Nao.
But from this point, Gulbadin Naib and Azmatullah Omarzai formed a decent and safe partnership, taking the team past the 50-run mark before Omarzai was dismissed in the ninth over, yet another Aghan batter bowled in this match.
The experienced Mohammad Nabi came in to bat at this point, and he was there to support Naib in taking the team home. Playing at less than a run-a-ball from this point, the scores were level at the end of 15 overs.
Having played the whole game with caution, Naib decided to finish things off in style with a straight six as Afghanistan won the match by seven wickets.
While Gulbadin played an important knock of 49 in 36 balls, it was Fazalhaq Farooqi, who bowled his four overs with the figures of 3/16, who won the Player of the Match.
As for Afghanistan, they have now won all three group matches so far and have made their way into the Super 8 stage of this T20 World Cup. They are at the top of Group C, followed by the West Indies, who have also won all three of their matches. These two teams will collide to decide the group winner on June 18.
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