LUCKNOW: Afghan­istan swept past the Netherlands by seven wickets in Lucknow on Friday to boost their chances of reaching the ICC World Cup semi-finals.

Chasing 180 to win, Afghanistan reached their target with 111 balls to spare to clinch a fourth win at the tournament to add to victories over defending champions England, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

They now have eight points, the same as Australia and New Zealand, who currently occupy two of the semi-final qualifying places.

Undefeated India have already made sure of a last-four spot with South Africa almost certain to join them.

“We are still dreaming and we are still trying our best to make the semi-final. That would be such a big achievement for our country and for me,” said Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi.

“A message to our country back home. We know that people are struggling, we are with them. I dedicate this win to them.”

Next up for Afghanistan on Tuesday is a potential grudge match against five-time champions Australia.

In January, Australia controversially cancelled a series against Afghanistan in protest, they claimed, at the Taliban’s treatment of women.

Rahmat Shah hit his third successive half-century for Afghanistan while Hashmatullah made an undefeated 56, also his third fifty in a row.

Rahmat had scored 77 against Pakistan and 62 in the win over Sri Lanka.

On Friday, he hit a 54-ball 52 with eight fours and shared a 74-run third-wicket partnership with Hashmatullah after openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (10) and Ibrahim Zadran (20) had departed cheaply.

Rahmat fell, caught and bowled by Saqib Zulfiqar with 129 on the board and his team well set for a win.

Hashmatullah’s 56 came off 64 balls and followed his 80 against India and 58 in the match with Sri Lanka.

“When I’m bowling, I’m just focusing on my line and lengths and bowling as many dot balls as I can. That makes the batsmen rush and my consistency helps me be successful,” said Mohammad Nabi, named man-of-the-match for his 3-28.

“I am happy with how my plans worked today. I’m still working on my fitness.”

Earlier, Afghanistan restricted the Netherlands to 179 all out.

The Netherlands won the toss and opted to bat but were undone by seeing four of their batsmen run-out.

They recovered from seeing 39-year-old opener Wesley Barresi dismissed by spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the first over.

Max O’Dowd and Colin Ackermann put on 70 for the second wicket when a series of calamities put them on the back foot.

O’Dowd was on 42 when he was beaten by a direct hit by Azmatullah Omarzai from fine leg.

With the score on 92-2, Ackermann (29) failed to make his ground when Ikram Alikhil whipped off the bails from a smart throw by Rashid Khan.

On the next delivery, skipper Scott Edwards swept, lost sight of the ball and as he wandered aimlessly out of his crease Alikhil ran him out without scoring.

Nabi and wrist spinner Noor Ahmad then sent back Bas de Leede and Saqib Zulfiqar with Logan van Beek dismissed, stumped by Alikhil.

Sybrand Engelbrecht had made 58 when he became the fourth run-out of the innings, failing to beat Nabi’s throw from midwicket.

That left the Dutch on 152-8 before they went on to be bowled out after 46.3 overs.

SCOREBOARD

NETHERLANDS:

W. Barresi lbw b Mujeeb1

M. O’Dowd run out (Omarzai)42

C. Ackermann run out (Rashid/Alikhil)29

S. Engelbrecht run out (Nabi/Alikhil)58

S. Edwards run out (Alikhil)0

B. de Leede c Alikhil b Nabi3

S. Zulfiqar c Alikhil b Noor3

L. van Beek st Alikhil b Nabi2

R. van der Merwe c Zadran b Noor11

A. Dutt not out10

P. van Meekeren lbw b Nabi4

EXTRAS (LB-2, W-14)16

TOTAL (all out, 46.3 overs)179

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-3 (Barresi), 2-73 (O’Dowd), 3-92 (Ackermann), 4-92 (Edwards), 5-97 (De Leede), 6-113 (Zulfiqar), 7-134 (Van Beek), 8-152 (Engelbrecht), 9-169 (Van der Merwe)

BOWLING: Mujeeb 10-0-40-1 (3w); Fazalhaq 5-0-36-0 (2w); Omarzai 3-0-11-0; Nabi 9.3-1-28-3 (1w); Rashid 10-0-31-0 (3w); Noor 9-0-31-2 (3w)

AFGHANISTAN:

Rahmanullah Gurbaz c Edwards b van Beek10

Ibrahim Zadran b van der Merwe20

Rahmat Shah c & b Zulfiqar52

Hashmatullah Shahidi not out56

Azmatullah Omarzai not out31

Extras (LB-3, NB-2, W-7)12

TOTAL (for three wickets, 31.3 overs)181

DID NOT BAT: Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-27 (Gurbaz), 2-55 (Zadran), 3-129 (Rahmat)

BOWLING: Dutt 8.3-0-49-0 (3w); Van Beek 7-0-30-1 (2w); Van Meekeren 5-0-35-0 (1w, 1nb); Van der Merwe 5-0-27-1; Zulfiqar 3-0-25-1 (1nb); Ackermann 3-0-12-0 (1w)

Result: Afghanistan won by seven wickets.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Mohammad Nabi

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2023