'No. 1 Catch' of the World Cup By Mitchell Santner
With a convincing victory over Afghanistan, New Zealand once again demonstrated why they are the team to beat in the ODI Cricket World Cup 2023. Afghanistan, led by Hashmatullah Shahidi, entered the game full of promise following their impressive victory over the reigning champions, England. However, Afghanistan struggled in all three sectors compared to New Zealand, the runners-up in the 2019 edition. Using the bat first, New Zealand scored 288/6 in 50 overs at Chennai, with half-centuries coming from three batsmen: Glenn Phillips, Will Young, and Tom Latham.
Afghanistan responded, but their chase never really got going as they were bowled out for just 139 runs, losing by 149 runs. Afghanistan missed a few receptions, but New Zealand also outperformed them in that regard. The finest illustration of it was arguably Mitchell Santner’s catch of Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi off Lockie Ferguson’s delivery.
Santner made an almost unbelievable grab with the final ball of the 14th over. Hashmatullah Shahidi attempted a pull shot on a short ball by Lockie Ferguson, but it appeared to be off-time. Then Santner jumped and spun around to grab the incredible catch.
The catch’s video was uploaded to ICC’s Instagram account. On the video, it said, “Screamer alert”.
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Devon Conway and Will Young began for the Kiwis and combined for thirty runs in the first inning. Mujeeb Ur Rahman bowled Conway out for 20 runs in the 6.3 overs (NZ 30/1). Young, though, had a strong inning, scoring 54 runs off 64 balls.
The game’s first powerplay saw New Zealand score forty-three runs. Afghan bowling only managed to notch one wicket.
In 10.1 overs, the Kiwis reached the 50-run threshold. Young and Rachin Ravindra formed a solid alliance.
After dismissing Ravindra for 32 runs from 41 balls (NZ 109/2), Azmatullah Omarzai claimed his second wicket.
In the 20.6 overs (NZ 110/3), Azmatullah dismissed Kiwi opener Young. After taking Ravindra’s place, Daryl Mitchell was unable to have any impact on the game. Rashid Khan removed him with just one run from seven balls (110/4).
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142 runs were scored by New Zealand during the second powerplay. Afghanistan, meanwhile, claimed three wickets. In the first inning’s 18.1 overs, the Kiwis reached the 100-run milestone. Following two swift dismissals from Mitchell and Young, right-hand batsman Glenn Phillips and captain Tom Latham of New Zealand grabbed control of the run rate with a magnificent combination that left 288 runs to pursue.
