A 23-ball 66 from Azmatullah Omarzai was backed up by some precise bowling by spinners Mujeeb Zadran and Qais Ahmad as Afghanistan recorded a thumping 202-run victory over New Zealand to reach the semfinals of the ICC U-19 World Cup here on Thursday.
Azmatullah unleashed three fours and seven sixes as the Asian champion posted a mammoth 309 for six after electing to bat first at the Hagley Oval.
New Zealand was bowled out for 107 with off-spinner Mujeeb (four for 14) and leg-spinner Qais (four for 33) mesmerising the home side’s batting.
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The result also means that three Asian sides will be in the semifinals since Pakistan has already qualified and awaits the winner of the match between two other South Asian teams — India and Bangladesh — who play the last quarterfinal on Friday in Queenstown.
The scores: Afghanistan 309 for six (Gurbaz 69, Ibrahim 68, Bahir 67 n.o., Omarzai 66) bt New Zealand 107 (Clarke 38, Mujeeb four for 14, Ahmad four for 33).