New Zealand beat Afghanistan by five wickets with 13 balls remaining in the fourth match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in Chennai, India, on Sunday.
Tim Seifert top-scored for New Zealand with 65, while Glenn Phillips made 42 to set up the chase.
Mark Chapman scored 28, Daryl Mitchell added 25, and Mitchell Santner made 17 as New Zealand reached the target.
For Afghanistan, Mujeeb-ur-Rehman took two wickets, while Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi claimed one each.
Earlier, Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat. Openers Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz put on 35 runs for the first wicket as Afghanistan posted 182 for six in their 20 overs.
Gulbadin Naib led the scoring with 63, while Sadiqullah contributed 29.
Lockie Ferguson took two wickets for New Zealand.
Two more matches are scheduled for Sunday, with England facing Nepal at India’s Wankhede Stadium and co-host Sri Lanka playing Ireland in Colombo.
On the tournament’s opening day, Pakistan beat the Netherlands, the West Indies defeated Scotland, and host India overcame the United States.
The 20 teams in the tournament have been divided into four groups.