Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat against New Zealand, scoring 124 for 8 in 20 overs. If the Kiwis beat Afghanistan, India will be eliminated from the semis. In that case, the Kiwis will advance to the semi-finals from Group Two along with Pakistan.
Najeebullah Sadra (73 off 48 balls, including 3 sixes and 6 fours) was Afghanistan’s top scorer with a half-century. But the Afghans suffered a setback when none of the other batsmen was able to provide significant support to Sadra. For the Kiwis, Trent Boult took 3 wickets and Tim Southee took 2 wickets. Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi and Jimmy Neesham took one wicket each. What happened at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi was exactly what Indian fans feared. The Kiwis’ world-class pace collapsed Afghan’s batting side.
Gulbaddin Naib (18 off 15 balls, including a four) and Najeebullah Sadra then combined to put the score ahead but could not lift the run rate. Meanwhile, spinner Ish Sodhi bowled out Naib.
The Afghans were 56–4 after 10 overs. Sadra, along with captain Mohammad Nabi (14 off 20 balls), struggled in the middle overs but could not lift the score as expected in the last overs for Afghanistan.
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