Afghanistan keep World Cup semi-final hopes alive with easy win over Netherlands
Rahmat and Shahidi played superbly again for Afghanistan and steered them to another win.
Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi hit fifties as Afghanistan notched up their fourth win in the World Cup, beating the Netherlands by seven wickets.
With the win, Afghanistan kept their hopes of sealing a semi-final spot alive.
Chasing 180, Rahmanullah Gurbaz departed early, falling for 10 off 11 balls. Meanwhile, Ibrahim Zadran (20) was removed by Roelof van der Merwe in the 11th over.
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But Rahmat and Shahidi played superbly again for Afghanistan and steered them to another win.
Initially, the Dutch were bowled out for 179 in 46.3 overs, setting a target of 180.
Netherlands captain Scott Edwards won the toss and opted to bat. Mujeeb Ur Rahman struck early for the Afghans as he removed opener Wesley Barresi in the first over, for one off four balls.
But Barresi's opening partner Max O'Dowd rebuilt for Netherlands, alongwith Colin Ackermann. It looked like O'Dowd would get a half-century, but a smart move by the Afghan captain saw Mohammad Nabi come in to bowl in the 12th over.
O'Dowd tried to take him on, but was dismissed by a direct hit, while attempting to take a double. He departed for 42 off 40 balls.
A run out in the 18th delivery saw Ackermann leave for 29 off 35 balls. Meanwhile, captain Edwards (0) was dismissed in the next delivery itself.
Bas de Leede (3) and Saqib Zulfiqar (3) followed suit, losing their wickets to Nabi and Noor Ahmad. Nabi and Noor struck again after the 30th over, removing Logan van Beek (2) and Roelof van der Merwe.
Nabi removed Van Beek in the 31st over and Van der Merwe departed in the 42nd over. The final wicket of the first innings came in the 47th over as Nabi trapped Paul van Meekeren (4) for a lbw. Nabi ended the innings with a three-wicket haul and Noor scalped two dismissals.
