Chennai: Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first against New Zealand in the fourth match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.
Playing XIs
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert(w), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner(c), James Neesham, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson and Jacob Duffy.
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Sadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darweesh Rasooli, Asmatullah Umarzai, Kulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan(c), Fazalhaq Farooqui, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman.
head-to-head
Afghanistan and New Zealand have met only twice in the T20 World Cup.
The head-to-head record between the two teams is tied at 1-1 as New Zealand won the first encounter in the 2021 edition, while Afghanistan won the previous edition of the mega event in 2024.
Competitions: 2
New Zealand: 1
Afghanistan: 1
Form Guide
Afghanistan and New Zealand enter their first Group D match of the T20 World Cup 2026 as the former have just one defeat in their last five T20Is, while the Blackcaps have just one win in their as many matches.
New Zealand took part in a five-match T20I series against co-hosts and defending champions India and suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat.
On the other hand, Afghanistan hosted West Indies in the three-match series in Dubai and won 2-1.
Afghanistan: L, W, W, W, W (Most recent first)
New Zealand: L, W, L, L, L