World Cup: Mujeeb joins 'club 100' for Afghanistan

Spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman became the fourth Afghanistan bowler to take 100 ODI wickets. He accomplished this milestone with his wicket against Netherlands at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): Spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been a vital cog for Afghanistan in their current campaign of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and he added another feather to his cap on Friday.

The famed spinner became the fourth Afghanistan bowler to take 100 ODI wickets even as the Asian side recorded its fourth win of the marquee tournament after they defeated the Netherlands by seven wickets at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium here.

Mujeeb is the third spinner from the country after spin sensation Rashid Khan, who has 179 ODI scalps to his name and spinning all-rounder Mohammed Nabi, who has 160 ODI scalps, to achieve the feat. Afghanistan pacer Dawlat Zadran, with 115 wickets to his name, is the other bowler on the list.

The win against the Netherlands was Afghanistan's fourth in this World Cup as they had earlier defeated defending champions England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. On Friday, Afghanistan dished out a clinical show as they first bundled the Netherlands for a partly 179 and then chased the target with utmost ease.

This chase on Friday was Afghanistan's third successful one in this World Cup and fourth in overall ODI World Cups.

Also, Afganistan's seven-wicket win over the Netherlands with 111 balls to spare was the third biggest by the team in terms of deliveries remaining in this edition of the World Cup. The other two were Sri Lanka's eight-wicket win over defending champions England (146 balls to spare) and India's seven-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad (117 balls to spare).

Meanwhile, in a bizarre statistic, four Netherlands batters were run out and this is the 12th instance of four or more runs outs in an innings in the ODI World Cup. Afghanistan who have jumped to the fifth in the points table with eight points and a Net Run Rate of -0.330, courtesy of the win on Friday, have kept their hopes alive for a berth in the semi-final.

The Jonathan Trott-coached side probably faces their toughest challenge next when they take on five times World Championships Australia at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on November 7 and that game would decide their fate. The spin trio of Mujeeb, Rashid Khan and Mohammed Nabi, could play an important role in the game against the Aussies.