In less than 96 hours after they beat World champions England, Afghanistan got a solid reality check from a ruthless New Zealand, who handed them a 149-run thrashing in a thoroughly one-sided World Cup match in Chennai on Wednesday.
The Kiwis registered their fourth straight victory in World Cup 2023, to go top of the standings.
Chasing a tough target of 289 on a spinner-friendly wicket at the M A Chidambaram Stadium, Afghanistan were sent packing for 139 in 34.4 overs.
The Afghans found Lockie Ferguson pace too hot to handle and had no answers for Mitchell Santner's big turning deliveries, as the duo picked up three wickets each.
Earlier, Will Young (54), Tom Latham (68) and Glenn Phillips (71) had rallied New Zealand to a healthy 288/6 in 50 overs as they recovered from a middle order slump.
While chasing, Afghanistan were down to 43/3 by the 14th over, with skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (8) being the third man to be dismissed, with Ferguson having his number.
The pairing of Rahmat Shah (36) and Azmatullah Omarzai (27) took brief control of the chase, putting on a 54-run stand for the fourth wicket.
However, the New Zealanders already had the upper hand, and with the ball turning, they hardly allowed them to score freely.
In the 26th over, pacer Trent Boult got the partnership broken, getting rid of Omarzai.
Thereon, the Afghans barely had any answers as they lost wickets at regular intervals.
Earlier, New Zealand recovered from a mid-innings slump to post a healthy 288/6 against a sloppy Afghanistan in a World Cup group league match in Chennai on Wednesday.
Will Young (54), Tom Latham (68) and Glenn Phillips (71) scored half-centuries to ensure that the Black Caps posted an above-par total on a track where stroke-making isn't the easiest of proposition.
Phillips and Latham put on 144 invaluable runs for the fifth wicket and it could well prove to be a game-changer.
IMAGE: Afghanistan's players celebrate a wicket. Photographs: Afghanistan Cricket Board/X
Put into bat first, the Kiwis lost opener Devon Conway (20) in the seventh over, with spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman trapping him leg before wicket.
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.
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.
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.
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 Kiwis slipped to 110/4.
While Young had already scored his seventh ODI half-century, he was notably dropped in the second over by Rahmat Shah off Fazalhaq Farooqi.
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.
The duo also brought up their half-centuries despite the Afghani bowlers keeping the Kiwi scoring rate in check.
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.
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.
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.
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.
