Tim Seifert’s 65 guided New Zealand to a five-wicket win over Afghanistan as the Kiwis’ aggressive batting sealed their first T20 World Cup win.
In the 4th match of the T20 World Cup, New Zealand secured a win over Afghanistan with a record-breaking chase. The Kiwis successfully chased 183, their highest in tournament history.
Afghanistan struck early after Mujeeb removed Finn Allen(1) and Rachin Ravindra(0), raising hopes of another win over New Zealand after 2024. However, the momentum shifted during the powerplay through Tim Seifert’s attack. He struck four fours and one six off Farooqi inside the powerplay, stopping Afghanistan’s early charge.
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New Zealand focused on rotating strike against spinners and attacking seamers. Seifert led with 65, while Glenn Phillips added 42 and Mark Chapman scored 28. Daryl Mitchell stayed unbeaten on 25 to guide the chase home. New Zealand reached the target with 13 balls remaining.
Earlier, Afghanistan opted to bat first after Rashid Khan won the toss and selected a spin-focused attack with three specialist spinners. Gulbadin Naib led the batting with a rapid half-century, lifting Afghanistan to a strong total of 182. He added a crucial partnership of more than 50 runs with Atal.
New Zealand got early wickets through Lockie Ferguson, who struck twice to remove both openers. The quick blows put Afghanistan under pressure during the powerplay. The tight opening overs limited early acceleration, limiting their total score to 182/6.
Take a look at some reactions for the New Zealand vs Afghanistan match here:
Rashid Khan hadn’t dismissed Glenn Phillips before today’s encounter in T 20 cricket.
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) February 8, 2026
Phillips was taking the game away from the Afghans and Rashid found the perfect moment to change the match up data.👏👏 #icct20worldcup2026
Match up before today’s dismissal⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ERsCSOkzku
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