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Following Afghanistan’s left-hand batter, Najibullah Zadran’s innings of 73 off 48 balls in the Super 12 game of the T20 World Cup in Abu Dhabi against New Zealand on November 7, former Indian opener, Virender Sehwag heaped praise on the Zadran. Sehwag feels that the Afghan batter is equally good against spin and pace and the Indian Premier League (IPL) contract is on the cards for the him.
"I have played alongside him in T10 League so I was expecting such a knock from him. He is brilliant against both pace and spin and I feel an IPL contract is just around the corner for him," Sehwag told CricBuzz.
Sehwag felt that Zadran was batting on a totally different track when compared to Afghanistan’s other batters and the southpaw tackled New Zealand’s bowling attack brilliantly.
"It looked like he was batting on a completely different track compared to other Afghanistan batters. He cashed in brilliantly against the spin duo of Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner. Even in Neesham's first over, he smashed a couple of boundaries," the 43-year old added.
Though Zadran’s brilliance didn’t prove enough for Afghanistan as they posted a below par total of 124/8 in 20 overs against the Kiwis.
The Blackcaps chased down the total in 18.1 overs with the contributions of skipper Kane Williamson(40*), wicketkeeper-batter Devon Conway (36*) and the opener Martin Guptill (28). They not only ensured their place in the semi-final but also knocked out Afghanistan and India from the T20 World Cup 2021.
New Zealand will now take on the runner-up of the 2016 T20 World Cup, England, in the second semi-final of the event on November 10 on the same venue they defeated Afghanistan.
