AFG vs NED | Twitter go gaga as Afghanistan continue on dream World Cup run with seven-wicket win over Netherlands

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Afghanistan continued their winning momentum in the 2023 World Cup with a clinical seven-wicket win against the Netherlands. After bundling out Scott Edwards & Co. for a sub-par total of 179, the Afghan batters chased down the target in just 31.3 overs to register their fourth win of the tournament.

The Netherlands were jolted early after deciding to bat first on a spin-friendly Ekana surface, losing Wesley Barresi in the very first over. Nevertheless, Max O’Dowd counter-attacked Afghanistan’s new-ball bowlers and Colin Ackermann played second fiddle to guide their team to a good position at the 11-over mark at 70/1. However, Afghanistan clawed back into the contest, bagging four wickets in the next ten overs, with three of the scalps coming in the form of run-outs and giving away just 27 runs in the process. While wickets continued to tumble, Sybrand Engelbrecht showed his prowess with the bat and notched up a valiant half-century to help the Netherlands surpass 150. After Engelbrecht (52) was dismissed, the lower-order batters showed some resistance before getting bowled out for a modest total of 179. Mohammad Nabi was Afghanistan’s wrecker-in-chief, picking up three scalps in the innings.

Chasing a sub-par total, Afghanistan, who had aced their last two run-chases, lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz after getting off to a positive start, scoring 27 runs in five overs. However, Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah scored runs at a decent clip and marshalled the team to 55 runs in the first powerplay. But soon after, Roelof van der Merwe dismissed Zadran to bring his team into the game. Nevertheless, Rahmat and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi scored runs at a brisk rate and helped the team get into triple digits in the 19th over. Though Rahmat was dismissed after scoring a well-compiled half-century with the scorecard reading 129, Shahidi (56*) and Azmatullah Omarzai (31*) guided the team across the line in the 31.3 overs. With the triumph, Afghanistan have risen to the fifth position in the standings with eight points to their name.

That was decent tho! 

Afghanistan will be happy!

Easy win for them!

Yes they did!

No such bad wishes mate!

That's really great!

Which song?

Hurts!

LOL!!!

Even ours!

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