New Zealand has thrashed Afghanistan by 149 runs in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.In the sixteenth match of the multinational event, Afghanistan was bowled out for 139 runs, chasing the target of 289 runs on Wednesday. Glenn Phillips received the Player of the match award for his crucial knock of 71 of 80 balls.Two more points on the board in Chennai! Lockie Ferguson 3-19 and Mitch Santner 3-39 leading the bowling effort. Scorecard | https://t.co/KwEW5rcWOQ #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/VLDdZqy6rh— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) October 18, 2023Early blows for AfghanistanAfghanistan was hoping to repeat the clinical performance that sealed the game against the current champion England but failed to do so against the Kiwis. As the chase began Trent Boult and Matt Henry struck early in the powerplay as Afghanistan lost both of its openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran cheaply.After the dismissals, the two Kiwi speedsters delivered three maidens on the trot as Afghanistan was reduced to 28/2 in the first 10 overs.Trent Boult-Lockie Ferguson cause batting collapseNew Zealands pacer Lockie Ferguson struck the third blow as he ended the battle of Hashmatullah Shahidi, who scored 8 off 27 deliveries. The pacer duo of Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson struck five wickets altogether causing a batting collapse at the Chepauk stadium.Rahmat Shah was the only batting who put up a fight against one of the best bowling attacks in the world and scored a fighting knock of 36 runs off 62 balls before being dismissed by spin allrounder Rachin Ravindra.Bottom order including Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, and Fazalhaq Farooqi failed to contribute with the bat, who were dismissed in single-digit figures.Half-centuries by Latham and Glenn PhilipsEarlier, the Blackcaps skipper Tom Latham stitched a huge 144-run partnership with Glenn Philips and slammed respective half-centuries in the process to help New Zealand post a respective total. Tom Latham scored 68 runs off 74 balls including 3 boundaries and 2 sixes while Glenn Philips scored 71 runs off 80 balls including 4 boundaries and 4 maximum. Both the batters became the victims of Naveen-ul-Haq. The batting pair of Mark Chapman and Mitchell Santner added 33 runs to propel the teams total to 288 runs in 50 overs.hGlenn Phillips (71), skipper Tom Latham (68) and Will Young (54) help build the total in Chennai. Time to bowl! Follow play LIVE in NZ with @skysportnz. LIVE scoring |https://t.co/KwEW5rcWOQ #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/onpsFsbbGC— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) October 18, 2023Brief Score New Zealand: 245/9 (Glenn Phillips 71(80), Tom Latham 68 (74), Will Young 54 (64) Naveen-ul-Haq (2-48), Azmatullah Omarzai (2/56) vs Afghanistan: 139/10 (Rahmat Shah 36 (62), Azmatullah Omarzai 27 (32), Ikram Alikhil 19* (21) Lockie Ferguson (3/19), Mitchell Santner (3/39).Result: New Zealand won by 149 runs
