In a thrilling match held in Trinidad, Afghanistan secured their spot in the T20 World Cup Super 8s by defeating Papua New Guinea by seven wickets. This victory also meant that New Zealand was eliminated from the tournament. Despite restricting Papua New Guinea to 95 runs, Afghanistan faced a challenging start to their chase. However, Gulbadin Naib’s unbeaten 49 played a crucial role in guiding his team to victory. He was the only batsman who managed to find his rhythm on a difficult pitch at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, hitting four fours and two sixes in his 36-ball innings.
The Afghan seamers Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq were instrumental in their team’s success, with Farooqi taking 3-16 and Haq 2-4. Their efforts led to Papua New Guinea losing three wickets in just four balls, leaving them struggling at 12-3 early in the third over. Despite the four run-outs in their innings, the Barramundis were able to somewhat recover as wicketkeeper Kiplin Doriga scored 27 runs to give some respectability to their total.
Although the challenging conditions made it difficult for Afghanistan to reach their target quickly, Gulbadin sealed the win in style by hitting a six to secure their third consecutive victory in the tournament with 29 balls to spare. The outcome of the match also confirmed New Zealand’s exit from the tournament. The Black Caps, who had reached the semi-finals in the last three T20 World Cups and were runners-up in 2021, had an early exit after losing to both Afghanistan and West Indies in the group stage. This marks
