New Zealand defeated Afghanistan by five wickets in their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Group D clash at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, February 8. Put in to bat, Afghanistan posted a competitive 182/6, powered by Gulbadin Naib’s fluent 63. In reply, Tim Seifert’s 65 off 42 balls and a brisk 42 off 25 from Glenn Phillips guided the Kiwis to the target with 13 deliveries to spare.
After Afghanistan opted to bat in a day game, they posted 182 for 6, on the back of Naib's 35-ball 63, which looked like an above-par total on a challenging Chepauk surface, which offered substantial bounce, especially in the early exchanges, and some grip to the slower bowlers. That total looked a whole lot bigger once Mujeeb blasted out Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra in the second over of the chase off back-to-back balls. Phillips, however, kept out the hat-trick ball and combined aggressively with Seifert to loosen Afghanistan's grip on the game. They snatched it from Afghanistan's hands when they cracked Rashid Khan for 14 in his first over. Rashid - and Afghanistan - never really recovered from that as New Zealand wrapped up the chase with five wickets and nearly two overs to spare.
