ICC World Cup 2023: Afghanistan beat Netherlands by 7 wickets
Lucknow, The Gulf Observer: Afghanistan on Friday beat the Netherlands by seven wickets in Lucknow, surpassing Pakistan on the points table for the World Cup 2023.
Afghanistan’s start for the 180-run target chase was unimpressive as openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran could not build a strong stand. Logan van Beek and Roelof van der Merwe were the Netherlands bowlers with wickets to their name.
Rahmat Shah (52) and Hashmatullah Shahidi (48) stood tall for Afghanistan at the 20-over mark of their innings.
After Shah was removed by Saqib Zulfiqar, Azmat Omarzai joined Shahidi at the crease and the pair sealed victory for their side with 111 balls to spare.
Earlier, Netherlands set a target of 180 runs for Afghanistan. A series of run outs plagued the Netherlands after a bright start from their top order batters. Netherlands’s new opening pair didn’t last too long at the crease as the pinpoint accuracy of Mujeeb Ur Rahman accounted for Barresi in the very first over. He trapped the veteran Dutch batter lbw for 3.
Later, Max O’Dowd and Colin Ackermann were positive as they made 42 and 29, respectively. Sybrand Engelbrecht joined O’Dowd at the crease after Ackermann was dismissed. He made 58 to boost the total.
After their dismissal, no player from middle and tail order could recover from the pressure as the were bowled out for 179 runs.
