World Cup: How New Zealand posted a match-winning total in Chennai against Afghanan, oscillating from modern to classic ODI cricket | Cricket-world-cup News
In an innings that lasted five minutes short of four hours, New Zealand indulged in a bit of time travel in Chennai on Wednesday, with Afghanan providing the perfect support cast. One moment they were playing the way the ODIs are supposed to be played in 2023. The other moment, they rolled the clock back a decade, showing the respect the situation demanded when Afghanan were all over them. And as the innings reached the climax, they fast-forwarded to the present day, showing the influence of T20 cricket.
When Rachin Ravindra attempted a heave over mid-wicket and ended up losing his stumps to Azmatullah Omarzai — whose seam position had even made Sachin Tendulkar take notice and draw comparison to Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s – he ended up giving hope for Afghanan. On a very hot October afternoon, with every passing over, Afghanan’s decision to bowl first looked questionable from every front until then. After losing Devon Conway in the seventh over, Will Young – dropped in the second over — and Rachin were playing risk-free cricket, going at over 5.5 runs per over. On a two-paced surface, this was as good as any pair could have batted, especially after limiting Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s damage in the first powerplay, where he conceded 27 runs in five overs – nearly two runs more than his career economy rate in this phase.
From 43 runs in the first 10 overs, in the next 10 overs Young and Rachin added 66 runs, putting early pressure on Mohammad Nabi who conceded two sixes in his first three overs. The odd boundary off Naveen-ul-Haq and Rashid Khan between the dot balls was good enough for New Zealand. Sans Kane Williamson, and with Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips to follow – two batsmen who struggled in India earlier this year – this was risk-free, free-flowing cricket at its best.
Phase 2: Collapse and rebuild
It was then that New Zealand entered self-destructive mood. They seemed to commit the same make that England, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakan have committed over the past couple of weeks. On the back of a strong start, with a settled pair in the middle, they have all aimed at moon landing before falling flat. Assessing a par score while batting first at this World Cup has been difficult.
So when Afghanan got the opening they desperately sought with the wicket of Rachin, they were in no mood to throw it away as they dismissed Young and Mitchell in quick succession. New Zealand lost three wickets in the space of 10 deliveries. If New Zealand stuck to the modern ODI template in the first 20 overs, in the middle overs it was Afghanan, who embraced it. With three skillful spinners to work around and well aware of Phillips’ limitations, they were waiting to prey on them as New Zealand went without finding a boundary between 18.1 to 28.5 overs – 64 legal deliveries in total.
Latham and Phillips, though, were in no mood to buckle under pressure. The former even played out a maiden off Nabi, fully aware of what another wicket could do. With still plenty of overs to come, dots, singles, and twos – which used to be the classic template for teams in the middle overs – were at the forefront here again. That the 15,525 odd fans embraced what was unfolding in the middle, only added to the theatre. The old-school repair work, where counter-attack was shelved in favour of pragmatism, is what Latham and Phillips would do for the next hour and a half. Of course, they would hit the odd boundary but never went in search of it to break the shackles. With Latham around, even Phillips grew in confidence. From playing the spinners from the crease that too off the back-foot at the start of his innings, he would graduate to taking forward strides.Most Read
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One thought the duo would go on the offensive between 36-40 overs to make most of the four-fielder rule, but even then they showed tremendous restraint, scoring just one boundary even though Afghanan tempted them keeping the mid-off inside the circle. At 185/4 at the end of 40 overs, with the duo adding only 75 runs since coming together at 21.4 overs, they had dug deep. On a pitch where 250 seemed enough, they went in search of it, without breaking sweat.
Phase 3: Finish with a flourish
Even in the last powerplay, they didn’t shift the gears instantly. Between 41-44, they gradually increased the tempo, scoring 25 runs. And from there on, they began to cut loose, effortlessly shifting into top gear, manufacturing shots, finding boundaries and sixes even off good deliveries. In the space of 16 deliveries, they walloped 41 runs as Afghanan, looked buried in an avalanche. That Naveen removed both Phillips (71 off 80) and Latham (68 off 74) in one over minimized the damage, but Mark Chapman came just in time to provide the finishing touch that this innings needed as New Zealand ended up with 288/6.
Afghanan played their part in New Zealand’s score burgeoning, due to some sloppy catching, and the end of the first innings, damage was done. Hashmatullah Shahidi and Co were left with too much to do in the run-chase as Kiwis kept piling on the wins.
