[Watch] Rashid Khan begins his spell by dismissing Kane Williamson in NZ vs AFG T20 World Cup clashÂ
Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan stepped up to make the most of the foundation set by the pacers in the powerplay as he took Kane Williamson's crucial wicket in the 2024 T20 World Cup Group C encounter. The leg-spinner struck off the very first ball of his spell right after the powerplay at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Friday, June 7.
New Zealand, in pursuit of 160 runs, had the worst possible start as Finn Allen was dismissed for a golden duck by Fazalhaq Farooqi off the first ball of the innings. The left-arm seamer continued to wreak havoc to reduce the Blackcaps to 28-3 inside the powerplay itself.
Skipper Kane Williamson had to play a huge role in the run chase in the middle overs to set up a platform. However, the right-handed batter perished after attempting to play his trademark dab to third man.
Rashid Khan floated the delivery outside the off stump while also placing a slip in place, a plan that worked straight away. Gulbadin Naib took a good reflex catch to prolong New Zealand's misery.
Have a look at the dismissal right here:
Williamson's dismissal left New Zealand reeling at 33-4 in the seventh over. He scored only nine runs off 13 deliveries as the Kiwis headed to one of their most humiliating defeats.
Rashid Khan dominated the middle overs with his spell
The leg-spinner did not just stop with Williamson's wicket as he orchestrated the latter half of New Zealand's downward spiral. He conceded only seven runs in his first over, and bigger things were in store for the remainder of his spell.
Returning into the attack for the ninth over, Rashid struck off consecutive deliveries to kickstart proceedings, sending back Mark Chapman and Michael Bracewell. He narrowly missed out on a hat-trick, but the damage was already done. Rashid conceded only one run off his third over, as his figures read 3-0-13-3
Rashid also took the catch in the deep to seal Glenn Phillips' end and take Afghanistan even closer to the famous win. The Afghans, who already have a very healthy net run rate following their mammoth win over Uganda earlier, have a chance to run away in the group with a massive second win on the cards.