Chennai (Agencies): New Zealand continued their winning run in the World Cup with a thumping 149-run win over Afghanistan in Chennai.
The Black Caps slipped from 109-1 to 110-4 but were revived by a stand of 144 between Glenn Phillips, who made 71, and captain Tom Latham’s 68.
Both were dismissed by Naveen-ul-Haq in the 48th over before Mark Chapman’s 12-ball 25 propelled New Zealand to 288-9.
The bowlers then completed a clinical performance as Afghanistan were all out for 139 in reply.
Afghanistan were left to rue a sloppy fielding performance that saw them drop five straightforward catches and miss a stumping, with opener Will Young dropped on one before going on to make a half-century.
Latham was dropped twice before reaching his fifty, allowing his side to blitz 62 from the final five overs.
With a competitive score to defend, Trent Boult and Matt Henry’s economical opening burst got rid of Afghanistan’s openers before Mitchell Santner’s spectacular diving catch got rid of captain Hashmatullah Shahidi to leave them wobbling at 43-3.
Rahmat Shah and Azmatullah Omarzai recovered with a stand of 54, but as the run-rate spiralled the middle order eventually buckled under the pressure and lost their last seven wickets for 42 runs.
Santner added 3-39 to his fielding efforts while Lockie Ferguson troubled Afghanistan with his pace to take 3-19.
The margin of victory boosts New Zealand’s net run-rate significantly and takes them to the top of the table, above India who are also unbeaten having played one game fewer.
Clinical New Zealand punish Afghanistan mistakes
Afghanistan came into the game full of confidence after their shock victory over England, but as the catches fell to the ground and chances were missed, that result seemed a distant memory.
A rare lapse in discipline saw New Zealand lose three quick wickets, including the set pair of Young and Rachin Ravindra in the same over.
But Afghanistan could not capitalise and instead, the gulf in class continued to grow.
Under pressure, eventual player of the match Phillips reined in his attacking instincts to play calmly alongside his captain, soaking up the pressure before setting a platform for a big finish.
They achieved that goal, but should not have: an early six from Phillips sailed over the head of Azmatullah, but would have been a simple catch had he been stationed correctly on the boundary rope, while simple chances were spilled with Latham on 35 and 38.
Naveen’s brilliant spell of 2-48 gave Afghanistan a chance to pull back some control in the final overs but Chapman immediately found form to strike a six and two fours in his brief stay.
And with the ball, Latham’s men were ruthless in their own classy style, the combination of Boult and Henry bewildering the top order before Santner’s unwavering accuracy and Ferguson’s hostility mopped up the rest.
Few spoke about New Zealand as contenders before the World Cup started but they set the tone by sweeping England aside with ease, with a semi-final spot now firmly in their sights.
