<p>Chennai: In less than 96 hours after they beat reigning World Champions England, Afghanistan got a solid reality check from a ruthless New Zealand, which recorded a thumping 149-run victory in a thoroughly one-sided World Cup match here on Wednesday.</p><p>As a result of this conquest, the Black Caps remain unbeaten in the event so far, taking the top spot again with its fourth straight victory.</p><p>Chasing a tough target of 289 on a spinner-friendly wicket at Chepauk, Afghanistan could manage only 139 in 34.4 overs. The Afghans found Lockie Ferguson's (3/19 in 7 overs) pace too hot to handle and had no answers for Mitchell Santner's (3/39 in 7.4 overs) deliveries, which at times, turned a mile.</p><p>This was after triple half-centuries from Will Young (54), Tom Latham (68) and Glenn Phillips (71) ensured that New Zealand put up a winning total of 288/6 in 50 overs.</p><p>While chasing, Afghanistan were down to 43 for 3 by the 14th over, with skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (8) being the third man to be dismissed, with Ferguson having his number.</p><p>Then, the pair of Rahmat Shah (36) and Azmatullah Omarzai (27) took brief control of the chase, putting on a 54-run stand for the fourth wicket.</p><p>However, the New Zealanders already had the upper hand, and with the ball turning, they hardly allowed them to score freely.</p>.Pakistan focus on Shaheen Afridi revival at nets; Mir may replace Shadab against Australia.<p>In the 26th over, pacer Trent Boult got the partnership broken, getting rid of Omarzai.</p><p>Thereon, the Afghans barely had any answers as they lost wickets at regular intervals.</p><p>Earlier, New Zealand recovered well from a mini mid-innings slump to post a commendable total. However, a total of five dropped catches did make things a bit hard for the Afghans, especially Rashid, who saw a couple of his chances go abegging.</p><p>Young , Latham and Phillips' half-centuries ensures that the Black Caps posted an above-par total on a track where stroke-making wasn't an easy proposition.</p><p>Phillips and Latham put on 144 invaluable runs for the fifth wicket and it could well prove to be a game-changer.</p><p>Put into bat first, the Kiwis lost opener Devon Conway (20) in the seventh over, with spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman trapping him leg-before.</p><p>However, the pair of opener Young and in-form batter Rachin Ravindra (32) took charge and put on a convincing 79-run stand for the second wicket.</p><p>A chance to stump Ravindra was missed, whereas spinner Mohammad Nabi was put under pressure by the Black Caps batters, as he was attacked quite regularly.</p><p>Eventually, it was pacer Azmatullah Omarzai who got the partnership broken in the 21st over, cleaning up Ravindra off a straight delivery, as the batter attempted to swing it towards mid-wicket, but missed it completely in the process.</p><p>It was at this moment the New Zealanders had a brief collapse, losing Young and Daryl Mitchell (1) by the 22nd over to Omarzai and spinner Rashid Khan, respectively, as the score read 110 for four.</p><p>While Young had already scored his seventh ODI half-century, he was notably dropped in the second over by Rahmat Shah off Fazalhaq Farooqi.</p><p>Nevertheless, New Zealand managed to recover soon as skipper Latham and Phillips put up another fine stand that defined the tone for the rest of their innings.</p><p>The duo also brought up their respective 23rd and third ODI half-centuries each, despite the Afghani bowlers keeping the Kiwi scoring rate in check.</p><p>As the pair began upping the ante and the scoring rate post the 45th over, the partnership was broken by pacer Naveen-ul-Haq in the 48th, with both the set batters departing in the same over.</p><p>But, there was still some work to be done, and it was Mark Chapman (25 not out) who came up with some late blitz, including two fours and a six, to ensure that the Black Caps went past the 275-run mark on this track.</p><p>For Afghanistan, Omarzai and Naveen were the stars with the ball, seizing a couple of wickets each, whereas Rashid was a no-brainer with his economical spell.</p>
<p>Chennai: In less than 96 hours after they beat reigning World Champions England, Afghanistan got a solid reality check from a ruthless New Zealand, which recorded a thumping 149-run victory in a thoroughly one-sided World Cup match here on Wednesday.</p><p>As a result of this conquest, the Black Caps remain unbeaten in the event so far, taking the top spot again with its fourth straight victory.</p><p>Chasing a tough target of 289 on a spinner-friendly wicket at Chepauk, Afghanistan could manage only 139 in 34.4 overs. The Afghans found Lockie Ferguson's (3/19 in 7 overs) pace too hot to handle and had no answers for Mitchell Santner's (3/39 in 7.4 overs) deliveries, which at times, turned a mile.</p><p>This was after triple half-centuries from Will Young (54), Tom Latham (68) and Glenn Phillips (71) ensured that New Zealand put up a winning total of 288/6 in 50 overs.</p><p>While chasing, Afghanistan were down to 43 for 3 by the 14th over, with skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (8) being the third man to be dismissed, with Ferguson having his number.</p><p>Then, the pair of Rahmat Shah (36) and Azmatullah Omarzai (27) took brief control of the chase, putting on a 54-run stand for the fourth wicket.</p><p>However, the New Zealanders already had the upper hand, and with the ball turning, they hardly allowed them to score freely.</p>.Pakistan focus on Shaheen Afridi revival at nets; Mir may replace Shadab against Australia.<p>In the 26th over, pacer Trent Boult got the partnership broken, getting rid of Omarzai.</p><p>Thereon, the Afghans barely had any answers as they lost wickets at regular intervals.</p><p>Earlier, New Zealand recovered well from a mini mid-innings slump to post a commendable total. However, a total of five dropped catches did make things a bit hard for the Afghans, especially Rashid, who saw a couple of his chances go abegging.</p><p>Young , Latham and Phillips' half-centuries ensures that the Black Caps posted an above-par total on a track where stroke-making wasn't an easy proposition.</p><p>Phillips and Latham put on 144 invaluable runs for the fifth wicket and it could well prove to be a game-changer.</p><p>Put into bat first, the Kiwis lost opener Devon Conway (20) in the seventh over, with spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman trapping him leg-before.</p><p>However, the pair of opener Young and in-form batter Rachin Ravindra (32) took charge and put on a convincing 79-run stand for the second wicket.</p><p>A chance to stump Ravindra was missed, whereas spinner Mohammad Nabi was put under pressure by the Black Caps batters, as he was attacked quite regularly.</p><p>Eventually, it was pacer Azmatullah Omarzai who got the partnership broken in the 21st over, cleaning up Ravindra off a straight delivery, as the batter attempted to swing it towards mid-wicket, but missed it completely in the process.</p><p>It was at this moment the New Zealanders had a brief collapse, losing Young and Daryl Mitchell (1) by the 22nd over to Omarzai and spinner Rashid Khan, respectively, as the score read 110 for four.</p><p>While Young had already scored his seventh ODI half-century, he was notably dropped in the second over by Rahmat Shah off Fazalhaq Farooqi.</p><p>Nevertheless, New Zealand managed to recover soon as skipper Latham and Phillips put up another fine stand that defined the tone for the rest of their innings.</p><p>The duo also brought up their respective 23rd and third ODI half-centuries each, despite the Afghani bowlers keeping the Kiwi scoring rate in check.</p><p>As the pair began upping the ante and the scoring rate post the 45th over, the partnership was broken by pacer Naveen-ul-Haq in the 48th, with both the set batters departing in the same over.</p><p>But, there was still some work to be done, and it was Mark Chapman (25 not out) who came up with some late blitz, including two fours and a six, to ensure that the Black Caps went past the 275-run mark on this track.</p><p>For Afghanistan, Omarzai and Naveen were the stars with the ball, seizing a couple of wickets each, whereas Rashid was a no-brainer with his economical spell.</p>