ODI World Cup 2023: New Zealand defeats Afghanistan by 149 runs
Bowlers put on a clinical performance as New Zealand defeated Afghanistan by 149 runs. Here is the recap of the first innings.

New Zealand kept their winning streak going as they defeated Afghanistan by 149 runs. New Zealand has now won four out of four games while Afghanistan failed to keep the momentum they earned from the win against the defending champions in their last game. Here is a recap of the first innings.
New Zealand keeps it tight in powerplay
Trent Boult opening the bowling for the Kiwis did not start in the manner he would have wanted to. He bowled a couple of wide deliveries and then managed to convince skipper, Tom Latham for a review which ended with last year’s runners-up losing their review on the fifth ball of the innings. Matt Henry from the opposite end bowled with discipline and did not let the Afghan batters score too many runs against him.
After a couple of fours from Ibrahim Zadran and a six from Rahmanullah Gurbaz, things started to look positive for the Afghans but then Henry struck in his third over. Henry induced an inside edge from Gurbaz which went on to hit the stumps. Two balls later, Boult from the other end dismissed Zadran to send both the openers back to the pavilion in a matter of three balls. Henry bowled two maidens while Boult bowled a maiden to end the powerplay. Afghanistan just scored 28 runs in the first 10 overs while losing two wickets.
Regular wickets seal the game for New Zealand
Mitchell Santner and Lockie Ferguson came into the attack right after the powerplay. Ferguson drew the first blood thanks to a screamer from Santner. Ferguson bowled a quick-paced short ball to the Afghan skipper, Hashmatullah Shahidi who got a top edge while playing the pull shot. Santner running back put a dive and then plucked the ball in mid-air to complete the catch. Azmatullah Omarzai came to the crease to join Rahmat Shah as the scoring rate decreased and the asking rate increased. In the next nine overs (15-23), Afghanistan scored just 39 runs as Santner, Ferguson, Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra kept things tight.
Boult came back into the attack and straightaway made an impact dismissing Amatullah. Ravindra too after being hit for some boundaries bounced back by dismissing Rahmat Shah. Santner came back into the attack replacing Boult and struck in his first over dismissing Mohammad Nabi. Ferguson dismissed Rashid Khan who could have damaged a bit of New Zealand’s NRR. In the same over he dismissed Mujeeb ur Rahman after being hit for a four. Santner picked the remaining two wickets in the next over.