Fazalhaq Farooqui continued his explosive start to the Men’s T20 World Cup as Afghanistan defeated New Zealand by a thumping 84 runs in Guyana.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh kicked off their World Cup campaign with a two-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Texas.
Farooqui blew away New Zealand’s top-order batting after taking 5-9 against Uganda in the opening match, and New Zealand’s run chase failed to gain momentum as they were beaten for 75 all out.
Wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran paved the way to victory for Afghanistan by putting on 103 for the first wicket, although Zadran ended up with 44 off 41 balls.
They scored 154 in the win over Uganda, becoming the first opening pair to record consecutive 100-run partnerships in a T20 World Cup.
Azmatullah Omarzai smashed 22 and Gurbaz finished for 80 off 56 balls (five sixes and four even), one of three wickets in the final over, as Afghanistan finished on 159 for six.
Farooqi then took control, getting Finn Allen out with the first ball before removing Devon Conway (8) and the dangerous Daryl Mitchell (5).
Captain Rashid Khan piled on New Zealand’s problems by dismissing his opponent Kane Williamson for nine, before taking successive wickets of Mark Chapman and Michael Bracewell to take New Zealand to 43 for six.
Glenn Phillips put up the most resistance, scoring 18 per ball, but New Zealand could not counter Rashid, who caught Lockie Ferguson off the last delivery to finish with 4-17.
Farooqui went back and caught Liam Henry in the deep to equalise Rashid’s figures and wrap up New Zealand’s innings at 75 in the 16th over.
Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi celebrates the wicket of Finn Allen
New Zealand face hosts West Indies in a crucial match in Trinidad on Wednesday night, while Afghanistan aim to make it a third consecutive win when they face Papua New Guinea the following day.
Bangladesh overcomes late crisis to beat Sri Lanka
Bangladesh started their T20 World Cup campaign with a win, beating Sri Lanka by two wickets in Texas.
Chasing 125 runs to win, they took two wickets in a close match but the experienced Mahmudullah headed them to victory.
Opener Pathum Nissanke set a strong foundation for Sri Lanka at Grand Prairie, hitting seven sixes and seven fours to score 47 off 28 balls.
However, from 100 for 3 at the start of the 15th over, they lost successive wickets towards the end and their innings slumped to 124 for 9.
Mustafizur Rahman took 3-17 and Rishad Hossain 3-22.
Bangladesh’s fightback got off to a poor start, with both openers dismissed inside the first two overs to leave them stumbling at 28-3.
Torvid Hridoy went on the offensive, hitting four sixes to score 40 off 20 balls, and added 63 with Kumel Das, who scored 36 off 38 balls.
With 12 runs needed from the final three overs, they looked headed for a comfortable victory until Nuwan Tushara, who finished with 4-18, returned to take two successive wickets.
However, Mahmudullah managed to calm his nerves as the former captain scored 16 not out to guide his team to victory with one over to spare.
Bangladesh take on South Africa in New York on Monday, while Sri Lanka, who have lost both their matches so far, play Nepal in Florida on Tuesday night.
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Eoin Morgan, Naser Hussain and Urooj Mumtaz join Ian Ward to discuss dream T20 World Cup XI
What’s next?
Action continues on Saturday when the Netherlands takes on South Africa at 3:30 p.m. in Long Island, New York. England – Tuesday’s opening match against Scotland was cancelled – Australia 6pm in Barbados.
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