Live report - New Zealand vs Afghanistan, Chennai

... and it'll be ten and out for Afghanistan shortly ... in fact, there it is, even before I've completed this update! Santner claims his tenth and 11th of the tournament, to mop up Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi. First, a loose reverse-sweep, top-edged to backward point, then a regulation nick into slip's bread-basket two balls later. The degree of turn that Santner has got in this innings has been telling. How much of a self-own was it for Afghanistan to bowl first? We may never know. But what we do know is that New Zealand are four wins for four, and clear for now at the top of the standings.

Four wickets for five runs in eight balls was the final collapse. But the damage was done earlier in the piece, particularly Afghanistan's errors in the field. Had they been chasing 220, as could have been the case without five missed chances, might things have been different?

Time to count them down... Rashid Khan took a lump out of Santner's figures with a bludgeoned six down the ground, but he was less sure of his tactics against the raw pace of Lockie Ferguson. After ducking a fast bouncer one ball earlier, Rashid makes room to leg to carve high over the covers, but Ferguson fires in the fuller ball and Mitchell at deep point steadies himself well to swallow a steepling catch.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman smokes his first ball out of the screws with some startling power, backing away for a launch through deep midwicket, but that's about the limit of his impact. Two balls later, he's Ferguson's second of the over, courtesy of Will Young on the fine-leg boundary. Another no-look pull, cramped from round the wicket on the short ball, and high off the splice once more.

Clinical from Santner, who is completely at home in his Chennai Super Kings fiefdom! Round the wicket, dipping on off, straightening around a front-foot push and thumping the off stump! That's his 100th in ODIs, Mohammad Nabi is gone for 7 from 9, and Afghanistan are adrift at 125 for 6. Santner and Matt Henry are now joint leaders in the World Cup wicket stakes, with nine apiece.

Time to put a fork in this one. Afghanistan have had their chances in this game - five clear-cut ones in the field alone - but New Zealand's table-topping excellence is coming to the fore now. Ravindra claims his first of the innings, after some lengthy deliberation from the TV umpire. A full-length ball draws a loose push back through the line, but Rahmat Shah mistimes his stroke, almost perfectly on the half-volley, and flicks a simple chance off the toe and straight back to the bowler.

Talking of those missed chances, here's what Deep Dasgupta had to say in the ESPNcricinfo studio.

Boult's back, and there's the breakthrough.

There'd been just the suspicion of a raising of tempo in Afghanistan's previous over, with Azmatullah thrashing two fours in the space of three balls to bring up his fifty-run stand with Rahmat Shah. But the spinners have done their job, so back comes the strike bowler to make the key incision. He hits the pitch hard from over the wicket, draws a cramped pull off the eyebrows and Latham scoops up a thin top-edge.

Afghanistan have been going nowhere fast since their third wicket fell eight overs ago, but at least that's a step up from collapsing in a heap. It's a steady rebuild from Azmat and Rahmat, who've managed a solitary boundary between them during a trial for the most part by New Zealand's spinners - Santner, Phillips and Ravindra - who seem unhampered by the evening conditions, and in fact are perhaps making Afghanistan question their wisdom at the toss. Handing New Zealand first use of this surface felt like back-to-front tactics given their success against England. But we shall see... the required rate is not yet out of hand but it is approaching eight an over now.

Supreme from Mitchell Santner at square leg, plucking a brilliant one-hander as Hashmatullah Shahidi's stay proves a short one. Aggressive from Lockie Ferguson, targetting his helmet from round the wicket, the Afghan skipper swings into a pull, taking his eyes off the ball on impact, and splices it in the air, towards the square leg umpire. There's no pace on the stroke, but there are so many angles for the fielder to contend with, as he sprints back, gauges the loop, times his leap and hyper-extends his left hand to close his fingers round the ball. Given the goober that Hashmat himself dropped in Afghan's woeful fielding effort, that will hurt all the more.

It had been a measured start from Afghanistan, and a slightly luckless one for New Zealand. But all of a sudden, two big wickets in the space of three balls have sent the Kiwis charging towards four from four.

The first, and most priceless, scalp was that of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the hero of the England win, who survived a testing first over from Trent Boult - including a burnt review for lbw - before pumping his 19th ball clean back over Matt Henry's head for his first and only boundary. Three balls later, however, Henry hit the seam on a perfect inducking length, and all but burst a blood vessel in an extraordinarily exuberant celebration. It was indicative of the threat that Gurbaz in particular, but Afghanistan in general, are posing in this contest, and 27 for 1 in the sixth over, it dented what had been a quietly promising powerplay.

Boult, however, soon followed up to make it New Zealand's hour. Ibrahim Zadran had picked off a brace of fours - one sumptuous, the other fortuitous - in his run-a-ball 14, but then closed the face too early to a length ball and pumped a leading edge to Mitchell Santner at short cover. It's going to take a fine rebuild for Afghanistan to make it back-to-back upsets.

A fine over from Naveen reins New Zealand in, but Azmat lets the new pairing wriggle away, in particular Mark Chapman who has come out blazing. A high-wide no-ball gets smashed over the covers to ignite a 20-run over, capped by a vast six off a slot ball over midwicket. Naveen returns to close the stable door with a tidy-ish 50th over, but the damage has already been done, and a final-ball biff for four through long-off caps New Zealand's charge. Afghanistan did choose to chase, but is a target of 289 slightly more than they had bargained for?

At the other end, there is finally a breakthrough, as Phillips toe-ends a Naveen full-toss slower ball to Rashid at long-off. But his 71 from 80 has been instrumental in the revival, as a 154-run stand comes to an end.

Suddenly, it's two in three balls, as Latham's fine knock ends too, out comes his off stump as he lines up a ramp and can't lay bat on ball. He's made 68 from 74, and Mitch Santner and Mark Chapman have the honour of the final 15 balls.

It's Tom Latham's turn to climb onto the offensive. One over after tucking Naveen-ul-Haq off his pads to bring up a 67-ball fifty, he takes the attack to Azmatullah, with two glorious sixes in quick succession, the first leathered hard through the line and over long-on, the second creamed high over deep midwicket. A ramp over the keeper for four continues the carnage, as Afghanistan's body language reeks of regret. Up comes the 250... they might have been all out by now with a bit of composure in the field.

Whatever it was that Rashid said, it hasn't had the desired effect just yet. Fazalhaq Farooqi returns to the attack, but Glenn Phillips is waiting to smoke him out of the park. A fractionally missed length gets the treatment over long-on, before the next ball, banged in shorter, is hauled high over midwicket.

It was all going on in Rashid Khan's ninth over, with Glenn Phillips and Tom Latham grinding out a sizeable fifth-wicket stand. First, a rare long-hop down the leg-side allowed Phillips to whack the googly through backward square for New Zealand's first boundary in four overs. But Rashid's response was remarkable - a wicked top-spinning legbreak that burst through the top of the pitch to climb past Phillips' splice. He grinned in recognition at that let-off, as indeed might Mitchell Santner in the NZ dressing-room.

But that smile should have been wiped off before the end of the over. A limp paddle off the pads looped with no pace whatsoever to Mujeeb at short backward square. But after seeming to time his leap well enough, he chose to go with one hand for no apparent reason, and the simplest error yet of an already flawed fielding display slipped through his grasp.

... hold that thought, we've got a new contender! A horrible, horrible moment in Rashid's final over, as Hashmatullah at midwicket leaps to intercept a leading edge as Latham closes the face early, and another utter goober goes down. It's unfathomable... both set batters reprieved, with Phillips closing out the over by reaching a 69-ball fifty, having slammed his second six off Mujeeb in between whiles.

The hundred partnership comes up at the end of the 44th over, whereupon Rashid gets the Afghan fielders together in a huddle, and lays down the law for what could be a hugely significant final six overs. For all the let-offs, New Zealand aren't out of sight by any means.

Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips have dug in well for New Zealand, to reinflate their mid-innings ambitions, and give themselves a chance to press on towards the 280-ish total that could yet prove ample on this deck.

But, should Phillips have holed out to deep midwicket off Mohammad Nabi on 19? A lashed pull to a fractionally short ball flies high towards the rope, where Omarzai has strayed in five yards and has to fling himself backwards in vain. He gets a finger on the chance, but it was dropping sharply. Had he been well set on the boundary's edge, he might have swallowed that.

New Zealand are battling back, but they are obliged to take the cautious route with Afghanistan fully in control of the match tempo now. A rare hint of width from Azmat gets chopped away through deep third by Glenn Phillips, but with Rashid Khan giving way to the offspin of Mohammad Nabi, there's no free runs on offer from the other end.

Oh hello, it's game on all of a sudden! Rashid scents the blood in the water, and a mere four deliveries after Young's departure, he's prised out the dangerous Daryl Mitchell! A wafty pull to short midwicket finds Ibrahim Zadran, who times his hop to gather a miscued chance, and that's 3 for 1 in nine balls! Mitchell was instrumental in the victory over Bangladesh with 89 not out from 67 balls, but he's gone now, and suddenly Afghanistan have a match situation in which their spinners can thrive, with pressure on the new men, and a chance to bowl with attacking fields, as they did so brilliantly against England. Scenes!

A pleasing sight for Azmatullah Omarzai, as his second delivery of the match plucks out Rachin Ravindra's middle stump, courtesy of a rather airy swing across the line. It ends a slightly sketchy stay from Ravindra, who was dropped before he had scored, took 12 balls to get off the mark, and also survived a legside stumping chance as Ikram fumbled off Rashid Khan to allow him time to get back into his crease. He twiddles his bat in frustration as he departs for 32 from 41. But at 109 for 2 in the 21st, he's done his bit to lay the platform.

But hang on... this could be a huge momentum shift in this over... Daryl Mitchell nudges his third ball for a single to bring Will Young back on strike, whereupon Azmat finds an inside-edge off a loose drive through the full length, and Ikram makes amends with a breathtakingly sharp wrong-footed pluck in his left hand, inches from the turf. Two in the over, and both set batters are gone!

More width outside off from Rashid Khan, and Will Young slams into a firm cut through deep backward point, to ease himself along to a tempo-setting fifty. Young's first appearance of this campaign had been a forlorn one, a first-ball duck against England before Conway and Ravindra powered their side to a startling nine-wicket win, and despite a fluent 70 against the Netherlands, he would not be playing this game but for Kane Williamson's freakish thumb fracture. The suggestion from the New Zealand camp is that Williamson could be ready again in two weeks' time, so this is a timely reminder of the qualities that got him into the squad in the first place, ahead of the more blazing attributes of Finn Allen.

Width out

The fifty stand between Will Young and Rachin Ravindra comes up from 51 balls, with an ominous burst of acceleration led by Young's long levers. A brace of sixes off Mohammad Nabi are interspersed with Ravindra's first real shot in anger, a skip to the pitch again off Nabi to launch him high back over his head. Rashid Khan makes his habitually delayed appearance in the 16th over, but a short and wide loosener gets hacked away through deep third for four more, through the grasp of Farooqi at backward point, and there's concerns for Afghanistan too as he calls for treatment on his fingers.

Afghanistan need to be sharper than this if they are to push for another famous win. Will Young was reprieved in the second over, and now Rachin Ravindra - the second of New Zealand's centurions against England - has popped a simple chance at midwicket, before he has scored. It was round the wicket from Mujeeb, a low full-toss angled into the left-hander, whose clip through the on-side skimmed low off the toe, but struck Hashmatullah on the heels of his palms, and went to turf.

It's a priceless chance, because in between whiles, New Zealand have just begun to indicate how many runs there could be in this surface. Plenty reward for measured strokeplay, with the ball coming sweetly onto the bat, and off again. Young has eased two fours and a six over long-on his 23 from 33 so far.

Devon Conway is such a priceless scalp in this tournament, and Afghanistan have grabbed him early, courtesy of a well-judged review for lbw off Mujeeb Ur Rahman. His innings had just begun to purr with a trio of boundaries in his 18-ball stay, including a sublime back-foot drive through the covers off the first ball of Mujeeb's third over. But two balls later, Mujeeb held that awkward length from round the wicket, shaping in at the pads and thumping Conway on the knee-roll. Umpire Joel Wilson thought long and hard, but said no, perhaps suspecting there's an inside-edge. But the ball is skidding straight on, and that's the first incision of the day. Conway took one glance at the first replay, and that was enough for him, long before DRS displayed all three reds.

Fazalhaq Farooqi set Afghanistan on their way with his first-ball wicket of Jonny Bairstow at Delhi, and today he nearly prised out Will Young in his first over once more! His first three balls came in to the right-hander with that habitual left-armer's bend, but the fourth ploughed straight on across his bows, and Rahmat Shah at slip couldn't close his hands around the chance, reaching high but comfortably so to his left. Farooqi closes out a fine maiden to maintain some control, but it's a big miss nonetheless.

Tom Latham spins the coin, Hashmat wins the toss and bowls first. "It might be the dew factor in the second innings," he says. "We looked at the opposition strength and decided to bowl first to restrict them."

On the England win, "we had the celebration on the first night, and we enjoyed that, but now it's gone." An unchanged team.

Tom Latham: "We weren't 100% sure, but I guess batting first is a good chance to put some runs on the board. Playing here last game helps, looks a slightly better wicket."

Young in for Kane Williamson, who suffered a broken thumb in a freak incident while batting. "Gutted for him, the way things happened, but fingers crossed he'll be available later in the tournament."

New Zealand : 1 Devon Conway, 2 Will Young, 3 Rachin Ravindra, 4 Tom Latham (capt, wk), 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Mark Chapman, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Mark Henry, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Trent Boult

Afghanistan: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Azmatullah Omarzai, 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Ikram Alikhil (wk), 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi