ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan won the toss and chose 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.
Squads
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 Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan(c), Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman Sharifi.
Afghanistan and New Zealand have thus far come face-to-face only twice in T20Is, with both their meetings coming at the T20 World Cup.
The head-to-head record between the two teams is tied at 1-1 as New Zealand prevailed in their first-ever meeting in the 2021 edition, while Afghanistan hit back with a win in their subsequent face-off in the previous edition of the mega event in 2024.
Matches: 2
New Zealand: 1
Afghanistan: 1
Afghanistan and New Zealand enter the first Group D fixture of the T20 World Cup 2026 with contrasting momentum as the former have just one defeat in their last five completed T20Is, while the Blackcaps have only one triumph in their as many games.
New Zealand featured in a five-match away T20I series against co-hosts and defending champions India and suffered a gruelling 4-1 thrashing.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, hosted West Indies for a three-match series in Dubai and prevailed 2-1.
Afghanistan: L, W, W, W, W (most recent first)
New Zealand: L, W, L, L, L
