ICC T20 World Cup 2026 | Seifert and Phillips fire New Zealand past Afghanistan

Chennai: New Zealand pulled off a steep ​chase against Afghanistan's spin-heavy attack to begin their Twenty20 World Cup campaign with a five-wicket victory in a group D match in Chennai on Sunday.

In the 2024 edition of the tournament ​it was a loss to Afghanistan that put New Zealand on the path to ‌an early exit, but Mitchell Santner and his team did ⁠not let history repeat itself.

Gulbadin ‌Naib's rapid 63 provided the bedrock of Afghanistan's strong 182-6 following skipper Rashid Khan's decision to bat first at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Tim Seifert (65) and Glenn Phillips (42) helped New Zealand overcome a top-order wobble and chase down the target with 13 balls to spare.

"It's always nice to ​start the tournament with a few runs, but the main thing is we got the win," player of the match Seifert said.

"There were a couple of early wickets, so it's nice to get the job done."

Earlier, Afghanistan began ‌briskly but Lockie ‌Ferguson's double strike in the final powerplay over reduced them to 44-2.

Number three batter Naib took his time to find his ⁠feet before racing to a 29-ball fifty as he and Sediqullah Atal (29) rebuilt the Afghan innings.

Afghanistan then milked 110 runs in the final 10 overs of the innings giving their spin-heavy attack a strong total to ⁠defend on a surface that aided their craft.

When New Zealand ⁠began their chase, wily off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman was pressed into service ‌in the second over, immediately dismissing opener Finn Allen and next man ‌in Rachin Ravindra - both bowled - in successive deliveries to stun the Kiwis.

Seifert and Phillips then fought fire with fire in a 74-run partnership off 47 balls that put the pressure back ‍on Afghanistan.

Rashid removed Phillips but dropped a return catch from Seifert at a crucial juncture in the match.

The batter went on to hit Mohammed Nabi for back-to-back sixes followed by a four before falling to the off-spinner.

Mark Chapman fell for 28 but Daryl Mitchell (25) and Santner (17) batted calmly to guide New Zealand to victory.

Rashid was not happy with how Afghanistan bowled in the match.

"I feel like we have not landed the ball in the right areas consistently," the all-rounder said.

"It ​allowed them to score so ‌many runs in the middle overs. If we could have bowled into the stumps and in the good length, it would have been very hard to score."