Canada v Afghanistan
Scorecard
Coming into chase, previous game’s centurion Yuvraj Samra hit a four on the very first ball against Mujeeb ur Rahman. Skipper Dilpreet Bajwa showed great intent with a couple of beautifully timed maximums.
Just when he found his touch, he tried to make room against Mujeeb and failed as the ball rattled the stumps. Navneet Dhaliwal came in at No.3.
The Canadian stalwart could not make much impact in his last international cricket innings as he played straight into backward point’s hands to fall for a five-ball duck.
Veteran spinner Mohammed Nabi was introduced into the attack and he immediately made an impact by dismissing Samra for 17. He struck again in his next, and game’s eighth, as Nicholas Kirton mistimed one and the safe hands of first-innings hero Zadran were safe as houses.
2024 semi-finalists Afghanistan are hoping to close the T20 World Cup campaign on a high as they posted 200/4 on the board against Canada in Chennai on Thursday. The total is their highest ever in T20 World Cups.
Put into bat, Afghanistan’s opening pair once again started well, putting on 47 runs. However, star batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell for 30, and Afghanistan slipped to 49/2 in powerplay.
Ibrahim Zadran led the Afghanistan rebuild with a gritty half-century, his second successive fifty at the World Cup. His 95-run partnership with Sediqullah Atal (44) gave Afghanistan the perfect platform to launch the final few overs. Carrying the bat through, Zadran scored his personal best knock of 95 off 56, which is also the highest score by an Afghan player in this edition of the World Cup. In a well-paced innings, he struck seven fours and five sixes.
For Canada, Jaskarandeep Singh was the most successful bowler and ended with 3/52 in four overs.
