Wicket-keeper and opening batter Tim Seifert put on a show at the top of the order as he showed his batting masterclass in a tricky run chase. Tim Seifert was a man possessed and showed what he is capable of and was assisted by others in the chase. Afghanistan batted first after winning the toss and posted 182/6 on the back of a magnificent half century from Gulbadin Naib and crucial contributions from other players to get them to such a big score.
In reply, Tim Seifert neutralised Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s 2-wicket haul as he scored a magnificent 65 off 42 balls while Glenn Phillips supported him well for his 42 runs off 25 balls and cameos from Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner took New Zealand over the line by 5 wickets with captain and senior player staying till the end. Mujeeb picked up 2 wickets for Afghanistan.
Gulbadin Naib’s powerful half-century helps Afghanistan post a competitive 182/6
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran came out to open for Afghanistan while Matt Henry had the new ball in hand for New Zealand. It was a steady start from the Afghanistan openers as they took their time initially in the powerplay and then accelerated a little. The duo put on 35 for the first wicket in 5 overs.
It was the introduction of Lockie Ferguson that brought New Zealand the breakthrough as he first removed Ibrahim for 10 off 12 balls with one boundary to his name as that brought Gulbadin Naib to the crease. 9 runs were added to the score before Ferguson had two in the over as he removed Gurbaz for 27 off 22 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name. Sediqullah Atal came out to join forces with Naib. The powerplay score was 44/2 in 6 overs.
The duo joined forces and aced the middle phase of the game. Naib was the aggressor of the two as he scored bulk of the runs while Atal complimented him well. The duo played right through the middle phase and took the innings to the last phase of the game. Atal and Naib put on 79 runs for the third wicket before Atal fell for 29 off 24 balls with 2 fours to his name to Jacob Duffy. Darwish Rasooli came out to bat next.
Rasooli and Naib built a solid stand in the death overs phase. Rasooli was quick off the blocks while Naib maintained a good tempo of scoring runs. The duo put on 23 runs for the 4th wicket before Naib fell for a magnificent 63 off 35 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes to his name. Azmatullah Omarzai came out to bat next. Rasooli and Omarzai added 8 runs for the 5th wicket before Rasooli fell for 20 off 13 balls with one four and one six to his name. Mohammad Nabi came out to bat next.
Nabi and Omarzai came together with 11 balls to go and played some crucial cameos towards the end. The duo added 18 runs off the last 11 balls before Omarzai was the last one to fall for 14 off 7 balls with 2 sixes to his name via a run out. Mohammad Nabi was unbeaten on 10 off 7 balls with one six to his name. Afghanistan posted a competitive 182/6 in 20 overs with 9 extras given by the fielding side.
New Zealand bowled decently and were a little mixed bag one would have to say that. Lockie Ferguson was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/40 in 4 overs. Matt henry bowled really well for his 1/27 in 4 overs. Jacob Duffy finished with 1/30 in 3 overs. Rachin Ravindra bowled an over for 14 runs and picked up a wicket. Jimmy Neesham finished with 0/33 in 3 overs. Mitchell Santner finished with economical figures of 0/23 in 4 overs. Glenn Phillips bowled an over for 12 runs. This meant that New Zealand needed 183 runs to win off 20 overs to start their campaign with a win.
Tim Seifert’s unbelievable half-century sets up New Zealand’s win inside 18 overs.Â
Chasing 183 for the win, Tim Seifert and Finn Allen came out to bat for New Zealand while Fazalhaq Farooqi had ball in hand for Afghanistan. Seifert started well by hitting three boundaries in the first over of the chase. The duo put on 14 for the first wicket before Mujeeb Ur Rahman created havoc by getting two wickets in two balls. He first dismissed Finn Allen for 1 off 2 balls by cleaning him up and then removed Rachin Ravindra for a golden duck by shattering the stumps.
Glenn Phillips came out to bat next and survived the hat-trick ball as well. New Zealand were in a spot of bother but then Seifert and Phillips counter-attacked for the Kiwis inside the powerplay. The pacers were taken to the cleaners as the duo started to take the game away from Afghanistan. Despite losing two wickets, New Zealand got to 50 inside 6 overs and were 52/2 in 6 overs. Phillips was the aggressor initially while Seifert played the perfect role of anchor and people played around him, The duo put on an amazing 74 run stand off 47 balls before Phillips fell for a well made 42 off 25 balls with 7 fours and one six to his name to Rashid Khan as he cleaned him up.
Mark Chapman came out to join Seifert in the middle. Chapman meant business as well and was off the blocks as well as New Zealand showed great positive intent out there in the middle. Seifert and Chapman added another valuable 36 run stand for the 4th wicket and the required rate was under control as the keeper batter Seifert fell for 65 off 42 balls with 7 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Mohammad Nabi. Daryl Mitchell came out to bat next.
Mitchell was the perfect guy to come in with no run rate pressure and did a fine job as well. Chapman looked good while Mitchell started slowly and then grew in confidence and built the partnership. The duo of Chapman and Mitchell added another crucial 31 run stand for the 5th wicket before Chapman fell for 28 off 17 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Azmatullah Omarzai. Captain Mitchell Santner came out to bat next.
Afghanistan dished out too many full tosses and it easy pickings for the New Zealand batters in Mitchell and Santner. The duo of Mitchell and captain Santner made sure there would be no more hiccups in Chennai for New Zealand as they added an unbroken 28-run stand off 13 balls as Mitchell hit the winning runs with New Zealand winning the contest by 5 wickets with 13 balls to spare. Mitchell was unbeaten on 25 off 14 balls with one four and one six to his name while Santner remained unbeaten on 17 off 8 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name. New Zealand finished with 183/5 in 17.5 overs with 5 extras given by the fielding side.
It was a tough day for the Afghanistan bowlers. Mujeeb Ur Rahman finished with 2/31 in 4 overs. Azmatullah Omarzai finished with 1/40 in 3.5 overs. Rashid Khan finished with 1/36 in 4 overs. Ziaur Rahman Sharifi finished with 0/33 in 3 overs. Mohammad Nabi finished with 1/18 in 1 over. So, New Zealand won by 5 wickets with 13 balls to spare to start their campaign with a win. Tim Seifert was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, two more games to come on this Super Sunday. We go to Mumbai next where mighty England takes on Nepal in a group stage game in Mumbai. This will be followed by co-hosts Sri Lanka facing Ireland at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Let’s wait and watch to see how these clashes pan out in the tournament.
Also Read:Â ICC T20 WC 2026: Mujeeb Ur Rahman Removes Finn Allen & Rachin Ravindra.