New Zealand vs Afghanistan, 4th Match, Group D, ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 - Commentary

There was a lot of talk about Afghanistan choking New Zealand with spin as this game was being played at Chepauk but if you looked closely at the IPL last two seasons, it hasn't done much for the spinners and batting has got easier because they managed to revive the bounce. Afghanistan seem to under value Noor Ahmad a fair bit because he's being in great demand in global leagues than any other Afghan spinner at the moment. There was a clear case to start him today with as many as four LHBs in the NZ top 8. In fact he took 12 wickets in 6 games last year at this very venue playing for CSK. Rashid wanted his side to learn quickly and it will be interesting to see their approach for the next game. Games do come quick and England are batting first at the Wankhede againt Nepal. Hop tabs and come along with us!

Mitchell Santner: "It was a good day. We knew coming in that Afghanistan are a threat and they showed that today. We knew it was a massive game for us today. Started the tournament off in the right spot. It was a pretty good performance. Pretty good wicket, but Afghanistan challenged us a lot throughout this game and as we thought they would. I think that's (assessing conditions) a massive part. It was a little bit sticky to start, I guess with the 11 o'clock start, and I think, we're playing at 3PM, 7PM, different grounds... I think that's going to be a massive thing for us and probably any team throughout the competition, to, get a read on surface and conditions and assess what is the most effective ball. (Was there any pressure with those early wickets) Yeah (chuckles). The powerplay is such an important part of this game, whether it's with ball or bat. And Mujeeb's tricks in the powerplay, it's always going to be a challenge. And he bowled extremely well then. But I think it was a flat wicket in the end, which was nice. Some nice partnerships throughout. Most teams are trying to stack the batting. Most teams have a batter at eight, which is nice to have. (Any areas to improve?) I think we could just be a little bit sharper. Again, I think we held our lengths for a long time, which is probably good on that wicket. 3 o'clock game, it might look different. It might just be flat to start. So, the cutters were holding a little bit. And I guess with the bat, I mean, it's those little partnerships that get you up to a big score. They ended up getting 180, which I thought was probably par on that wicket. It was a good chase in the end."

Rashid Khan: (On the loss) "Well, definitely, we don't want things to be like this, but I think it's something which we will learn, especially in the bowling department. I feel we put a good total on the board - 182. But still in the middle, I think how we bowled every ball... we gave them more opportunities to score runs, and I think that's the area where we need to improve. Mujeeb started really well with the ball. Guys started well with the bat as well. Everyone got the momentum, but after powerplay, I think we didn't land the ball where we should have, and I think that's something to learn from here and move on to the next one. (Planning for the game) We already have those meetings and discussions, like, what your plan A, plan B should be and as a bowler you have those plans with you, but it's just about the execution. I feel more than anything, you need to execute it in the right area and bowl in the right area. I feel we didn't land the ball in the right area consistently and that gave them so many runs in the middle overs. I feel if we bowled into the stumps and in the good length area, it was very hard to score, so and just mix it up. I feel that's something which we didn't do it and hopefully we don't repeat those things in the next game. I think everyone tried their best to play their own game. That's something which we have given (freedom), just to go there, express your talent and it doesn't matter if you get out the first ball. You bring your own game, and the way Gurbaz played and then Gulbadin... he came up and he showed the right intent to score runs, and that's what put us in a good position. And then later on Azmat (Omarzai), Nabi, Darwish (Rasool), they all contributed. So quite happy with everyone with the way we have batted, but I think we still have some of the areas we need to improve, especially opening. I think that's something which can put us a little bit down as well in the first six overs. So we need to improve on how you're going to utilize it as a batting unit."

Tim Seifert | Player of the Match: "Yeah, personally, it's always nice to start the tournament with a few runs under your belt. But the main thing is we got the win. Tough conditions as well out there. Lost a couple of early wickets, so it's nice to get the job done. (on the conditions in the powerplay) Yeah, for us, myself and Finn, we always looked to try and put pressure on the bowlers and we thought pace was going to be easier than spin. And then we just adapted throughout the innings there. And then I thought sometimes the spin actually came a little bit easier than the seam. So it went my way, it's all about the momentum and who you're going to target throughout the innings. (something specific you are working on?) Oh, yeah, there's always something you're working on, but I think it's just the experience of playing around the world and in some of these franchise leagues and playing with the best players in the world and, you know, adapting to every condition basically out there and also just backing yourself how you want to go about your game."

Highest target successfully chased vs AFG (T20Is)
183 by NZ, Chennai, 2026 WC*
176 by SL, Sharjah, 2022
173 by IND, Indore, 2024
170 by SL, Abu Dhabi, 2025

The previous highest target successfully chased against Afghanistan in a T20 World Cup match was 154 by Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens in 2016.

This is also the highest target that New Zealand has successfully chased in a T20 WC match. The previous highest was 167 against England at Abu Dhabi in 2021.

Afghanistan, while defending a 180-plus total (T20Is)
Matches: 26
Won: 25
Lost: 1 (today)

It helped immensely that Phillips found his way to handle Mujeeb as well and towards the end of the powerplay, he managed to pick up pace and took three fours off the mystery man. Rashid came on immediately after the powerplay but Phillips smacked him for 12 runs off 4 balls to leave the Afghan captain fuming. Eventually Rashid switched ends and forced Phillips to drag on but the 79-run stand with Seifert had already burried fears of another NZ collapse against AFG spinners. Chapman coming out and handling Rashid with ease literally sealed the deal. Rashid, Mujeeb, none of them were effective again. Seifert took on Nabi to finish the game early and fell in the process after making a sensational 35-ball 63. Mitchell and Santner got the job done with 13 balls to spare.

14:23 Local Time, 08:53 GMT, 14:23 IST: Two crucial points here for New Zealand - they have done it by recording their highest successful run chase in T20 World Cups. 183 was a challenging target. When Mujeeb went through the defences of Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra Afghanistan had their tails up. They had high hopes of beating New Zealand for the second time in as many T20 WC games, having outclassed them in 2024. But the difference this time was Tim Seifert counterattacking in the powerplay. He has played in the sub-continent across global leagues. He had played on tough CPL pitches as well and he can handle spin. He ensured Mujeeb made no more inroads by playing with a straight bat. And he smashed Farooqi for 4 fours and 1 six in the 11 balls he faced off the left-armer in the powerplay. The plan was simple. Handle spin carefully and attack the pacers in the powerplay.

Pause in play as Afghanistan change the field