Afghanistan chances for semi-final with big win

Netherlands were undone by four run-outs, a stumping and a spin chokehold in Lucknow, as Afghanistan improved their outside chances of making the semi-final with a fourth win in seven games, this time also boosting their net run-rate along with it.

Their 111-ball win chasing 180 was swiftly wrapped up courtesy contributions of 52 from Rahmat Shah and 56 from Hashmatullah Shahidi, but the meat of the action took place in the first half where Afghanistan bowled well in parts, but were helped along the way by regular errors from Netherlands.

Netherlands had begun the day with their best batting start of the World Cup by reaching 72 for 1 in 11 overs, mostly on the back of Max O’Dowd’s early assault. But O’Dowd’s search for a second run in the 12th over resulted in his run-out after Azmatullah Omarzai effected a direct hit from fine leg.

The run-outs then inexplicably continued as a well-set Colin Ackermann (29) was slow to react to a single call from Sybrand Engelbrecht. Next ball, Scott Edwards didn’t know where the ball went after he mis-hit a reverse sweep, and by the time he realised, wicketkeeper Ikram Alikhil had broken his stumps. A short squeeze by Mohammad Nabi, Noor Ahmed and Rashid Khan followed, after which Engelbrecht – the man who was holding the innings together – too was run-out after Roelof van der Merwe called him for a single that wasn’t there.

Those four dismissals in similar fashion left Netherlands deflated and gave Afghanistan an opening they never let go of. With the Dutch sliding from 72 for 1 to 97 for 5, their spinners held control of the middle overs. It also allowed Afghanistan to recover from a difficult start with the ball, where they conceded 6.6 per over in the powerplay despite taking the first-over wicket of Wesley Barresi. Fazalhaq Farooqi, one of only two seamers in their XI for this game, conceded eight boundaries in the powerplay, a tournament record for the 2023 edition.

Wicketkeeper Alikhil had an impressive outing behind the stumps, contributing to three of the four run-outs, taking two difficult catches off spin bowling, and stumping Logan van Beek. He held on to catches offered by Bas de Leede and Saqib Zulfiqar and was swift with his glovework when van Beek gave Nabi a charge. Nabi, for his 3 for 28, was the pick of the bowlers on a day where Afghanistan dropped Naveen-ul-Haq and added Noor to play with four spinners.

Afghanistan’s chase of 180 began with a stutter when Rahmanullah Gurbaz was out in the fifth over and Ibrahim Zadran was gone by the 11th. But they weren’t under run-rate pressure with an initial burst of boundaries from No. 3 Rahmat. Rahmat was busy in front of square on the off side, and his partnership of 74 in 77 balls with Shahidi kept Afghanistan far ahead in the chase. Netherlands’ seamers weren’t penetrative after the shine wore off, and the batters were careful against the spin of Aryan Dutt and Zulfiqar.

Rahmat reached his third fifty in a row at the World Cup and 26th in all ODIs, but was gone caught-and-bowled to the wrong-footed wristspinner Zulfiqar. However, the Dutch celebration was short-lived when Omarzai counterpunched upon entry and Shahidi held fort. Along the way, Shahidi reached his 19th ODI fifty and victory was completed in the 32nd over with the pair staying unbeaten on a stand of 52. Remarkably, there were no sixes hit in the game.

For Netherlands, a spot at the Champions Trophy in 2025 now looks increasingly difficult with a top-eight finish at risk with games against England and India to follow. Afghanistan – now on fifth – have Australia and South Africa coming up and are still in contention for a semi-final finish.