New Zealand began their T20 World Cup campaign on a blistering note, registering a commanding five-wicket victory over Afghanistan in their opening encounter on Sunday in Chennai. Chasing a challenging target, New Zealand’s innings did not begin smoothly following the loss of explosive opener Finn Allen for one run and the dismissal of Rachin Ravindra for 0 that put New Zealand under pressure early on.
However, opener Tim Seifert anchored the innings brilliantly, absorbing pressure and rebuilding the innings with a decisive 65-run knock. Seifert was given support by Glenn Phillips and Mark Chapman who both steadied the innings at a crucial phase with 42 and 28 runs respectively. Lower the order, Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner scored unbeaten on 25 and 17 respectively to take the side to victory.
Earlier, Afghanistan had put up a competitive total of 182 for 6 after opting to bat first. Gulbadin Naib was the standout performer with the bat, producing an aggressive knock of 63 that lifted his side to a strong position. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sediqullah Atal chipped in with useful contributions of 27 and 29 to boost the total.