{"id":1062,"date":"2026-02-08T07:15:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T07:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=1062"},"modified":"2026-02-08T07:15:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T07:15:16","slug":"afghanistan-opt-to-bat-against-new-zealand-in-t20-world-cup-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=1062","title":{"rendered":"Afghanistan Opt to Bat Against New Zealand in T20 World Cup Match"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CHENNAI:<\/strong> Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first against New Zealand in the fourth match of the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup 2026 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both teams are placed in Group D of the tournament along with South Africa, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Afghanistan and New Zealand have met twice in T20 internationals so far, with the head-to-head record evenly balanced at one win apiece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Zealand named a strong playing XI featuring Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra, and Glenn Phillips, while Mitchell Santner will lead the side. The bowling attack includes Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, and Jacob Duffy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Afghanistan, led by Rashid Khan, fielded a balanced squad with Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran opening the innings, supported by all-rounders Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, and Azmatullah Omarzai. The bowling unit is spearheaded by Fazalhaq Farooqi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHENNAI: Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first against New Zealand in the fourth match of the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup 2026 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1063,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[983,984,985,750,454],"class_list":["post-1062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-afghanistan-vs-new-zealand","tag-cricket","tag-group-d","tag-icc-tournament","tag-t20-world-cup-2026"],"yoast_head":"\nRashid Khan Leads Afghanistan Against New Zealand<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Afghanistan elect to bat after winning the toss against New Zealand in the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup 2026 match at Chennai.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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