December 26, 2025 02:17 am (IST)
NZ beat Afghanistan by 4 wickets
Napier, Mar 8 (IBNS): New Zealand maintained the top position on the Pool A as they defeated Afghanistan by six wickets in a World Cup match here on Sunday.
Experienced New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori took four wickets while Trent Boult took three to bowl out the Asian side for 186 runs in 47. 4 overs and the co-hosts then reached the target of 188 runs by losing four wickets in 37. 4 overs to register their fifth straight victory in the tournament.
Vettori used all his experiences to reduce Afghanistan to 6-59.
Samiullah Shenwari (54) and Najibullah Zadran (56) stabilized the innings and helped the Afghanistan side post 186 runs on the scorecard.
Brendon McCullum again gave New Zealand as strong start by posting 19-ball 42, hitting sic boundaries and a six while Martin Guptill remained the top scorer with his 57.
It seemed that Guptill will help New Zealand reach the target but his run out delayed things and Ross Taylor (24*) and Corey Anderson (7*) made it to 188 runs with 13.5 overs to spare.
Afghanistan 186 all out in 47.4 overs (S Shenwari 54, N Zadran56; D Vettori 4-18)
New Zealand 188 runs for four in 36.1 overs (M Guptill 57, B McCullum 42; S Zadran 1-45, M Nabi 1-39)
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Latest Headlines
India announces T20 WC 2026 squad: Shubman Gill misses out, Axar Patel back as vice-captain
Sat, Dec 20 2025
Sourav Ganguly sues local Argentina Fan Club president for Rs. 50 crore for linking him to Messi event chaos
Fri, Dec 19 2025
'How can Gambhir be a coach to a leg spinner or a wicketkeeper?': Kapil Dev backs manager-style leadership in Team India
Fri, Dec 19 2025
Why India’s first Women’s World Cup victory meant more to Mithali Raj than anyone else
Thu, Dec 18 2025
Smog forces abandonment of India vs South Africa 4th T20I in Lucknow
Wed, Dec 17 2025
1996 World Cup hero Arjuna Ranatunga faces arrest in oil scam probe
Tue, Dec 16 2025
