Chennai: Tim Seifert’s typically aggressive fifty was the moving force behind New Zealand’s five-wicket victory over Afghanistan in a Group D match of the T20 World Cup here on Sunday.
Seifert (65, 42b, 7×4, 3×6) showed why he has been nicknamed ‘Bam Bam’ in Kiwis’ circles, helping his side go past the target of 183 with considerable ease.
Seifert had an equally single-minded partner in Glenn Phillips (42, 25b) as the third wicket pair added 74 runs in 47 balls to rescue New Zealand from a wobbly 14 for two.
The turbulence was the after result of the little passage of magic by spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman, who dismissed Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra off successive balls in the second over.
But the Antipodeans clawed back through Seifert, who fetched his fifty off 39 balls with a six off off-spinner Mohammad Nabi. As the noon moved on, the assistance for spinners from the pitch was reduced to a good extent.
Phillips focused more on Rashid Khan, slamming him for a four and six as New Zealand got a real move-on.
However, Nabi had the last laugh, dismissing Seifert, and Rashid too got his revenge through the wicket of Phillips. Seifert was dropped on 48 by Rashid off his own bowling, and the wicketkeeper batter maximised the let-off.
But by then, New Zealand were so close to home and reached there through Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner, who knocked off the remaining 28 runs without much ado.
Earlier, seasoned Gulbadin Naib made a free-flowing fifty but Afghanistan had to settle for slightly below-par total of 182 for six.
Naib (63, 35 balls) and Sediqullah Atal (29, 24b) added 79 runs off 51 balls for the third wicket but the general sense was that of labour on a pitch that had a hint of slowness.
It reflected in Afghanistan’s scoring pattern — steady rather than flashy: 44/2 in Power Play, 77/2 after 10 overs and 130/3 after 15 overs.
The last five overs produced further 52 runs, but ideally the Afghans would have wanted a few more on the board.
Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz (27, 22b) looked in fine fettle, but a slower delivery from pacer Lockie Ferguson disturbed his furniture in the sixth over.
In the same over, Ferguson, who used leg-cutters to good effect, jettisoned opener Ibrahim Zadran to peg back Afghanistan.
Naib, who brought up his fifty in 29 balls, played a forceful innings, tonking pacer Jacob Duffy for two sixes and a four as Afghanistan seemed to have found some momentum in the middle overs.
Atal played a good supporting role, but could not force the pace on his own and his stay was curtailed by Duffy.
But his dismissal came as a blessing in disguise as Naib and Darwish Rasooli (20, 13b) added 33 in 17 balls as Afghanistan crossed the 150-run mark.
However, Naib fell to part-time spin of Rachin Ravindra in the 18th over as Afghanistan could not get a desired death over flourish. Azmatullah Omarzai hit a couple of sixes to push his side past the 180-run mark.
