New Zealand have advanced to the Twenty20 World Cup semi-finals in the UAE, defeating Afghanistan by eight wickets at Abu Dhabi.
Needing victory to assure their place in the final four, the Blackcaps outclassed Afghanistan in every department, chasing down their target of 125 runs with 11 balls to spare.
A combined effort from the Blackcaps seam attack - led by Trent Boult's man-of-the-match performance of 3/17 with the ball - saw Afghanistan restricted to 124/8 in their 20 overs, before an unbeaten partnership of 68 runs between captain Kane Williamson (40 not out) and Devon Conway (36 not out) guided New Zealand home.
The result temporarily sent the Blackcaps ahead of Pakistan atop group two. Should Pakistan lose their final match of the Super 12 stage against Scotland, New Zealand would face Australia in the semis, but a Pakistan win would see them take on England.
The result also ends any chance India or Afghanistan had of reaching the last four.
Losing the toss and asked to field first, the Blackcaps new-ball attack got New Zealand off to the perfect start in their hunt for a semi-final spot.
In the third over, Adam Milne (1/17) removed wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad, courtesy of an outstanding catch from Conway behind the stumps.
Boult joined the party five balls later by bouncing out Hasratullah Zazai and when Tim Southee (2/24) trapped Rahmanullah Gurbaz leg before wicket with the first ball of the sixth over, Afghanistan had lost their top order at 19/3 inside the powerplay.
Batting at No.5, Najibullah Zadran resisted the Blackcaps bowlers to give Afghanistan a semblance of a target to bowl at. The left-hander struck a 33-ball half-century, hitting four fours and two sixes.
Najibullah carried past his fifty, but regular wickets hurt Afghanistan's cause in their search for a competitive total.
Gulbadin Naib made it to 15, before he dragged Ish Sodhi (1/13) back onto his stumps, while captain Mohammad Nabi ground out a stubborn 14 from 20 balls, before he departed to a caught and bowled from Southee.
Najibullah finally departed for 73 - more than half his team's runs - as Jimmy Neesham completed a fantastic diving catch at long-off from Boult's bowling. Najibullah's innings came in 48 balls with six fours and three sixes.
Boult grabbed his third with the penultimate ball of his spell, as Karim Janat was caught at fine leg by Sodhi for two. Neesham (1/24) removed Rashid Khan with the final ball of the innings, as Afghanistan set the Blackcaps 125 for victory.
To their credit, Afghanistan's 124/8 was better than India's 110/7 in Dubai earlier in the Super 12 stage, but with two of the world's best Twenty20 spinners in their ranks, Afghanistan weren't about to go down without a fight.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman struck first to remove Daryl Mitchell (17), caught behind with a carrom ball, while Rashid clean bowled Martin Guptill (28) with a perfect googly to pick up his 400th wicket in T20 cricket.
At 57/2 in the ninth over, Conway joined Williamson at the crease, and the pair set about easing to the target. In fact, the Blackcaps were so well positioned in their chase, no batsman even hit a six, with aggression unnecessary in their stroll to victory.
Williamson hit three boundaries in his unbeaten 40, seemingly finding the gaps at will, while Conway showed off his range of sweeps and reverse-sweeps against the Afghanistan spinners.
With scores level, Conway took one final run down the ground, as the Blackcaps became the final side - after Pakistan, England and Australia - to reach the semi-finals.
Depending on the Pakistan v Scotland result, the Blackaps will either face England in Dubai on Thursday morning (NZ time) or Australia in Dubai on Friday.
The Blackcaps have made two previous Twenty20 World Cup semi-finals in 2007 and 2016.
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