Afghanistan look to rebuild things after losing quick wickets in the powerplay. Afghanistan lost both of their openers inside the first six overs as Lockie Ferguson starred with wickets in single over. Gulbadin Naib and Sediqullah Atal aim to rebuild things for the team, after their team won the toss and opted to bat first in their T20 World Cup 2026 clash against New Zealand at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The two teams are placed in a tough group as they open their campaign in what is a high-stakes clash on Sunday. This match has great significance, considering they are in Group D, which also features South Africa, along with minnows UAE and Canada. This is the group of death in the T20 World Cup 2026, as a maximum of only two of the three potential semifinalists can make it through to the Super Eight stage, with at least one failing to progress further. This makes this clash a pretty important one, and even South Africa would be glued to watch the match taking place in Chennai, traditionally known as the spin hub, but has now shown fewer signs of spin in the last few years.
Afghanistan and New Zealand met each other in the 2024 World Cup too, when the Afghans famously defeated New Zealand in what was another group of death that featured the West Indies, as the Kiwis failed to make it to the next stage. They would eye redemption now in what is their first meeting against the Rashid Khan-led team in any format since that game. The Kiwis are hit by injury concerns to a few players, with Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway having suffered illness, while Michael Bracewell and Lockie Ferguson are managing calf issues. Meanwhile, Finn Allen is also nursing a shoulder injury that he picked up against India. Afghanistan have won six of the seven matches heading into this World Cup, while New Zealand lost their last T20I series to India 4-1 ahead of the World Cup. Follow for all the updates on this clash.
Match Scorecard
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