Opener Tim Seifert’s explosive 65 off 42 deliveries propelled New Zealand to their highest-ever run chase in a T20 World Cup, resulting in a five-wicket victory over Afghanistan on Sunday. Afghanistan posted a total of 182-6, but Seifert’s quickfire innings, supported by Glenn Phillips’ 42 runs, guided New Zealand to surpass the target with 13 balls to spare in the match held in Chennai.
This successful chase surpassed New Zealand’s previous best T20 World Cup chase of 167 against England in the 2021 semi-final. Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman posed a threat by striking early in New Zealand’s innings, dismissing Finn Allen for one and Rachin Ravindra for a duck in successive deliveries in the second over.
Phillips prevented a hat-trick and then combined with wicketkeeper Seifert in a crucial 74-run partnership for the third wicket, countering Afghanistan’s strong spin attack. Despite a breakthrough by captain Rashid Khan to remove Phillips, Seifert managed to reach his fifty with aggressive hitting, including a six off Mohammad Nabi.
Seifert continued his attacking play, hitting Nabi for another six and a four before eventually getting caught in the deep. Mark Chapman contributed with 28 runs off 17 balls, while Daryl Mitchell and skipper Mitchell Santner guided New Zealand to a comfortable victory by reaching 183-5.
In the match where Afghanistan won the toss and opted to bat, Gulbadin Naib’s aggressive 63 off 35 balls stood out as they recovered from a shaky start of 44-2. Lockie Ferguson made an impact by taking two wickets in his opening over, dismissing Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
Naib and Sediqullah Atal then built a solid partnership of 79 runs for the third wicket to stabilize Afghanistan’s innings. Naib reached his fifty off 29 balls but was dismissed shortly after attempting a big shot off Rachin Ravindra’s bowling, contributing to Afghanistan’s final total.