NZ Vs AFG, T20 World Cup 2026: Tim Seifert, Glenn Phillips Power New Zealand To Five-Wicket Win

New Zealand stormed to a five-wicket win over Afghanistan in their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 opener at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. Afghanistan posted a competitive 182 for six, with Gulbadin Naib smashing 63, supported by Sediqullah Atal’s 29 and Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 27. In reply, Tim Seifert’s explosive 65 off 42 balls and Glenn Phillips’ 42 powered New Zealand to victory in just 17.5 overs, giving them a perfect start to the tournament.

New Zealand won by 5 wickets
Afghanistan's captain Rashid Khan, center, greets New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell, right, and Mitchel Santner after New Zealand won their T20 World Cup cricket match against Afghanistan in Chennai, India. | Photo: AP/Mahesh Kumar A.
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New Zealand vs Afghanistan T20 WCup Cricket Daryl Mitchell
New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and New Zealand in Chennai, India. | Photo: AP/Mahesh Kumar A.
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Afghanistan vs New Zealand T20 WCup Cricket Mitchel Santner
New Zealand's captain Mitchel Santner bats during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and New Zealand in Chennai, India. | Photo; AP/Mahesh Kumar A.
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Afghanistan vs New Zealand T20 WCup Cricket Tim Seifert
New Zealand's Tim Seifert celebrates his fifty runs during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and New Zealand in Chennai, India. | Photo: AP/Mahesh Kumar A.
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Afghanistan vs New Zealand T20 WCup Cricket Mark Chapman
New Zealand's Mark Chapman plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and New Zealand in Chennai, India. | Photo: AP/Mahesh Kumar A.
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Afghanistan vs New Zealand T20 WCup Cricket Glenn Phillips
New Zealand's Glenn Phillips plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and New Zealand in Chennai, India. | Photo: AP/Mahesh Kumar A.
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T20 World Cup: Afghanistan vs New Zealand
Afghanistan's Mujeeb Ur Rahman, left, celebrates the wicket of New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra with teammate Rahmanullah Gurbaz during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and New Zealand in Chennai, India. | Photo: AP/Mahesh Kumar A.
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T20 World Cup: New Zealand vs Afghanistan Tim Seifert
New Zealand's Tim Seifert plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and New Zealand in Chennai, India. | Photo: AP/Mahesh Kumar A.
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Gulbadin Naib AFG vs NZ T20 WCup Cricket
Afghanistan's Gulbadin Naib acknowledges the crowd as he leaves the ground after losing his wicket during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and New Zealand in Chennai, India. | Photo: AP/Mahesh Kumar A.
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AFG vs NZ T20 WCup Cricket Gulbadin Naib
Afghanistan's Gulbadin Naib celebrates his fifty runs during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and New Zealand in Chennai, India. | Photo: AP/Mahesh Kumar A.
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AFG vs NZ T20 WCup Cricket Sediqullah Atal
Afghanistan's Sediqullah Atal bats during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and New Zealand in Chennai, India. | Photo: AP/Mahesh Kumar A.
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Afghanistan vs New Zealand T20 WCup Cricket Gulbadin Naib
Afghanistan's Gulbadin Naib plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and New Zealand in Chennai, India. | Photo: AP/Mahesh Kumar A.
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Afghanistan vs New Zealand T20 WCup Cricket  Lockie Ferguson
New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson bowls a delivery during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and New Zealand in Chennai, India. | Photo: AP/Mahesh Kumar A.
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New Zealand vs Afghanistan T20 WCup Cricket Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz bats during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and New Zealand in Chennai, India. | Photo: AP/Mahesh Kumar A.
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T20 WCup Cricket Afghanistan vs New Zealand  Ibrahim Zardan
Afghanistan's Ibrahim Zardan bats during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and New Zealand in Chennai, India. | Photo: AP/Mahesh Kumar A.
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Get the Latest Cricket News, today's match Live Cricket Scores, Match Results, and upcoming cricket series & schedule at Outlook India. To follow our special coverage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 News updates, T20 World Cup Schedule, T20 world cup teams' Squad, T20 World Cup 2026 points table, and Stats - most runs & wickets of T20 World Cup 2026.

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