Afghanistan has given the dreamiest start o their T20 World Cup journey. After winning two consecutive matches, they are standing on a strong point. In the match against New Zealand, the Afghan squad showcased their excellence and registered a win of 84 runs over New Zealand. While batting in the first innings, Rahmanullah Gurbaz shined once again to become the player of the match. After the match, he shared his feelings.
Gurbaz’s Excellence and Words After Match:
After playing an exceptional knock in the first game against Uganda, Gurbaz continued his exceptional form in their second match against New Zealand. While opening the innings with Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz played an excellent knock of 80 runs in 56 balls. He smashed 5 boundaries and 5 over-boundaries. That knock gave a huge boost to the innings. For this impressive contribution, he was awarded the Player of the Match award.
Afghanistan totally outplayed the Kiwi side and registered an 84-run win. While talking about this win, Gurbaz said, “Nothing is (more) special than this. We have been waiting for this victory for the last three years. We faced them and they beat us, finally we beat them. The trust and the belief was there from the very start. We had the trust that we can beat any team in this competition.”
On the Game:
While batting first, Afghanistan showcased their excellence. They batted exceptionally well in the first innings and set a good target of 160 in front of the New Zealand side. Even after having a slow start, Afghanistan made a remarkable comeback and fought well. They restricted New Zealand to only in 75 runs and clinched a smooth victory.
While talking about the win, Gurbaz said, “The wicket was not easy, the total was very good, very happy. I was actually a bit frustrated, I didn’t start that well. Ibrahim and I were discussing that we should keep calm and play some good cricket shots. We thought 130-140 would be a good total, but I played some good shots and Azmatullah played very good shots as well.”
Praising the Bowlers and the Opening Partnership:
In this match, the Afghan bowlers registered some unbelievable performances. Rashid Khan and Fazalhaq Farooqi secured 4 wickets each. Mohammad Nabi secured 2 wickets. After that impressive win, Gurbaz praised the bowlers. He said, “Credit goes to the bowlers as well, they bowled very well against a team like NZ, unbelievable.”
After the first match, Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran maintained a good opening partnership. In the match against New Zealand, they made a partnership of 103 runs. While talking about that, he said, “This is a very good partnership (Ibrahim-Gurbaz) as openers. We have a very good combination. Sometimes (if) it’s not my day, he tries to take on the bowlers. If it’s my day, I tell him to give the strike to me. The conversations go on. You have to encourage the bowlers, as a wicketkeeper, my job is to keep everyone active on the ground. I try to give some energy to the bowlers as well.”
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