Several football games were postponed over the weekend like Valencia vs Real Madrid and Villarreal vs Rayo Vallecano
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New Zealand's batting display was far from flawless against Afghanistan but Glenn Phillips believes their middle order gave a good account of themselves in the team's 149-run win in Chennai on Wednesday.
Put into bat, New Zealand were cruising at 109 for one in the 21st over but found themselves under pressure after losing three wickets in nine deliveries.
Phillips (71) and skipper Tom Latham (68) then combined in a rollicking 144-run stand that helped New Zealand post a match-winning total of 288-6.
"The Afghanistan spinners are incredibly talented and strong and with losing a couple of wickets in the middle there the way me and Tommy went about it was really pleasing," player-of-the-match Phillips said.
"Our top order has done really well over the last couple of games, so to be tested in the middle is really good."
It was a typical team effort by the 2019 runners-up, who registered their fourth successive victory to go top of the points table.
Team is the star
Phillips attributed their strong run in the tournament to their philosophy of putting the team above anything else.
"We've got such a team-first mentality, everyone's working for each other and thinking how can we make the best of the moments we're in," said the hard-hitting 26-year-old batter.
"(It's about) understanding we've all got experience in different areas of the world, understanding what I can do for my mates and what he can do for me, just keep trusting each other."
Kiwi stand-in-captain Latham was delighted with the team's fourth straight win that sent them to the top of the table.
"Another great performance," Latham, leading the side in absence of injured Kane Williamson, said.
"We were put under pressure some times. The bowlers managed to take wickets when it was needed."
They benefited tremendously from sloppy fielding by Afghanistan, who floored four catches and blew a stumping opportunity as well to let New Zealand off the hook.
New Zealand were not as forgiving though when they returned to defend their total and bundled out Afghanistan for 139 inside 35 overs.
New Zealand will take on hosts India in a mouthwatering clash between two unbeaten sides in their next match in Dharamshala on Sunday.
Early strike
New Zealand rattled Afghanistan early in their chase, dismissing openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran in the space of three balls.
Mitchell Santner then plucked a stunning one-handed catch to send back Shahidi, who fluffed his hook shot against Lockie Ferguson.
Santner's spectacular athleticism not only reduced the Afghans to 43-3 but also provided a contrast to Afghanistan's sloppy catching.
Afghanistan crawled to 94-3 at the halfway stage and lost both Rahmat Shah (36) and Omarzai (27) soon after, which made their defeat just a matter of time.
Ferguson (3-19) claimed two wickets in his seventh over, and Santner (3-39) claimed a couple in the next to put Afghanistan out of their misery.
"Very disappointed, because at this level you have to take those kind of catches," Shahidi said.
"The team otherwise was doing well but our fielding let us down."
Brief scores:
New Zealand beat Afghanistan by 149 runs runs.
New Zealand 288/6 in 50 overs (Glenn Phillips 71, Tom Latham 68, Will Young 54; Naveen-ul-Haq 2/48, Azmatullah Omarzai 2/56, Rashid Khan 1/43, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 1/57)
Afghanistan 139 all out in 34.4 overs (Rahmat Shah 36, Azmatullah Omarzai 27; Lockie Ferguson 3/19, Mitchell Santner 3/39, Trent Boult 2/18, Matt Henry 1/16, Rachin Ravindra 1/34)
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