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Afghanistan seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi made an instant impact in Afghanistan's 160-run defence against New Zealand in the group stage 2024 T20 World Cup clash. The left-arm pacer extended his lead as the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with his timely strike at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Friday, June 7.
The Rashid Khan-led side put up a competitive score after being put into bat first, and the bowlers have been entrusted to defend the total, much like they did against Uganda recently. Farooqi, adept at swinging the new ball both ways, bamboozled right-handed Finn Allen with a brilliant inswinger straight up.
The opening batter went for a massive heave right away, but missed contact altogether as the ball snuck through to make a mess of the stumps. Have a look at the dismissal right here:
The left-arm pacer has been lethal with the new ball in the 2024 T20 World Cup so far. He had struck off consecutive balls in the first over against Uganda as well to give Afghanistan the early advantage.
Farooqi strikes again to dismiss Devon Conway in his second over
Farooqi tested both Williamson and Conway in the remainder of his first over, only conceding five runs. Nabi kept things tight in the second over to put pressure on the Blackcaps as the pacer returned to bowl his next over.
After an edgy over where New Zealand struggled to break the shackles completely, Farooqi stepped up again to dismiss Devon Conway. The left-handed opening batter, playing his first competitive fixture since February, could not make an impression after a soft dismissal. He scored just eight runs off 10 deliveries.
Afghanistan are all over New Zealand at the minute, with second pacer Naveen-ul-Haq also coming to the party. The right-arm pacer came close to dismissing Kane Williamson, but the New Zealand skipper was handed a major reprieve following an umpire's call during DRS.
As of writing, the Blackcaps are placed at 28-2 after four overs, and still have eight overs of wrist spin to deal with against the climbing required run rate.
