WC: Huge win for Kiwis

Kiwis secured a resounding 149-run victory over Afghanistan in a thoroughly one-sided World Cup match in Chennai on Wednesday. With this triumph, the Black Caps maintain their unbeaten record in the event, reclaiming the top spot with a fourth consecutive win. New Zealand skipper Tom Latham, said, A pleasing start. Another great performance. We were put under pressure some times. The bowlers managed to take wickets when it was needed. We had lost three wickets in a short span of time. We thought of regrouping. They bowled fantastically well. We managed to capitalize. Glenn played a fantastic knock. The first 10 overs were superb. Mitch Santner coming in and doing his job. Pleasing all-round performance. I guess on the back of some good performances, it is pleasing. We have India and then Australia. Hopefully, the momentum will continue. Afghan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi, said, At this level, you have to take those catches. The fielding was poor. We were a bit down because of that. Last six overs, a lot of runs scored by the NZ team. Before the 40th over, we dropped a couple of catches. We couldn’t stop the set batters. We tried but failed. The toss I can say, you can’t judge 100 percent when it comes to the pitch. The pitch was slow. We bowled well but the fielding was a concern for us. It will hurt us. We have more games to come. We will talk where we can improve and come back stronger in the next game. Glenn Phillips, Player of the Match, said, The Afghanistan spinners are incredibly talented and strong. Was really pleasing to see me and Tom go well in the middle after losing a few early. It was really good the way we batted here, especially on a dusty track here. Was great how we were able to take it down till the end and get the runs. We thought we’d be able to get 60 off the last 6 if we both were out there. The way Chapman and Santner finished it off was amazing. Thought that around 250 would’ve been par. W