Taunton: New Zealand defeated Afghanistan by seven wickets at Taunton on Saturday, bringing them to the top of the table with six points in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
Chasing a below-par target of 173, the Kiwis got off to a shaky start as they lost their opener Martin Guptill for a duck on the very first ball off Aftab Alam.
Next to bat was skipper Kane Williamson, who built a 41-run partnership for the second wicket along with Colin Munro, until the latter was sent back by Alam in the 8th over. Taylor came out to bat at number four after the fall of Munro’s wicket and added 89 runs along with Williamson before being dismissed by Alam.
Despite the fall of wickets, Kiwis managed to bounce back as Williamson (79) and Tom Latham’s (13) 43-run stand took the Blackcaps over the line, securing their third consecutive win. Earlier, Afghanistan lost the toss and were put to bat first by the Kiwis. Hazaratullah Zazai and Noor Ali Zadran gave a steady start to the Afghanistan
Brief Scores: New Zealand 173/3 (Kane Williamson 79, Ross Taylor 48, Aftab Alam 3-45) defeated Afghanistan 172 (Hashmatullah Shahidi 59, James Neesham 5-31, Lockie Fergusen 4-37) by seven wickets. (ANI)
