New Zealand's Discipline Key to Convincing Victory Over Afghanistan
Black Caps show why they are one of the favorites to win the World Cup
The World Cup is a competition where discipline is crucial. Again, New Zealand demonstrated this. This time it came in the shape of their impressive 149-run victory over Afghanistan on Wednesday at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium.
With the exception of their mid-innings collapse, which saw them lose three wickets for only one run and go from 109/1 to 110/4 in over No. 22, the Black Caps did most things correctly, leading them to their fourth straight victory and the top spot in the standings.
On the other hand, Afghanistan, who had been basking in the glow of their victory over the defending champions England the previous Sunday, were incredibly sloppy on the field as they missed the easiest of catches, which perhaps helped New Zealand after being sent into bat.
The 144-run fifth-wicket partnership between Glenn Phillips and stand-in captain Tom Latham, who scored 71 off 80 balls, and their innings helped New Zealand recover and reach 288/6. But to be fair, if the Afghans hadn't slipped up during the Latham-Phillips combination, the 2019 runners-up might not have managed to reach even 250.
Following that, the Black Caps were flawless in their fielding while defending the total. In addition to striking three times with his left-arm spin on a surface he is familiar with from his time playing for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, Mitchell Santner pulled off a brilliant one-handed diving catch to send back Afghan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi.
Lockie Ferguson, a bowler, also took three wickets, matching Santner's total, despite some of the Afghanistan batters using subpar strokes. In other words, Afghanistan was just as indisciplined in practically every way as New Zealand was.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed
