New Zealand (NZ) will face Afghanistan (AFG) in 4th Match of Group D in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on 08 February 2026. This match is quite important for both teams as they want to start their campaign with win in the group stage. The Chepauk stadium in Chennai will host this encounter between two sides who shown good form in recent times. Both teams are prepared for the Indian conditions and want to grab first points in this tournament. Let’s break down expert analysis, betting tips, team performance, pitch report, and today’s NZ vs AFG 4th Match Prediction. Who will win today’s match?
New Zealand vs Afghanistan | 4th Match | T20 World Cup 2026
Series: T20 World Cup 2026
Date: 08/02/2026
Time: 11:00 AM IST, 5:30 AM GMT
Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Streaming: Jio Hotstar and Star Sports Network
Team Performance
New Zealand: Team Preview & Performance
New Zealand arrive with a side built for process-driven cricket in this ICC T20 World Cup’s 4th match. They will look stronger and want to start their winning streak from this match. New Zealand’s tour of India started earlier, where they lost their T20I series 1-4 against India. They have learned the Indian pitches quite well and are now better prepared with their team. In batting, explosive opener Finn Allen and experienced wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert will start—recently Allen was player of the match in their final warm-up against the USA.
Middle order features Mark Chapman and Glenn Phillips who know how to tackle spinners, as they showed in the previous series against India, with Daryl Mitchell supporting who can take the team to victory in the end. In bowling, Jacob Duffy and James Neesham can handle the pace bowling with spinner-skipper all-rounder Mitchell Santner leading along with Mark Chapman’s support. Overall the team looks well balanced to face Afghanistan in this match and New Zealand is a strong team in this tournament as they reached the final three times in 2015, 2019 and 2021.
Afghanistan: Team Preview & Recent Performance
Afghanistan come into this ICC T20 World Cup match with good confidence after their historic 2024 semifinal run where they defeated big teams like Australia, Bangladesh and New Zealand. The team is led by world-class spinner Rashid Khan who is one of the best T20 spinners in the world and recently became highest T20I wicket-taker. Afghanistan showing mixed form in recent times as they won some good matches but also lost few important ones. In big tournaments they struggled bit with loss in tri-series finale to Pakistan and early exit in Asia Cup 2025, but in bilateral series they done better with 3-0 clean sweep against Zimbabwe and 2-1 win against West Indies recently in UAE.
In batting, explosive opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran will be the key players as they recently made good partnership of 113 runs against Pakistan, while middle order is featuring experienced allrounder Mohammad Nabi and young talent Azmatullah Omarzai who can change the game anytime. The bowling attack is their main strength with spin attack of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad and Mohammad Nabi who are very dangerous on Asian pitches, with pace support from Fazalhaq Farooqi. Gulbadin Naib comeback adds more experience in the side. Overall Afghanistan looks like dangerous team for Asian conditions and with their semifinal experience from last year, they are ready to face New Zealand in this match and can trouble them well.
NZ vs AFG Today’s Match Weather Condition:
- Temperature: 29°C
- Humidity: 73%
- Rain: 10%
- Wind direction: East
- Wind speed: 12.8 km/h
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NZ vs AFG Today’s Match Pitch Report & Toss Condition
The Chepauk surface is expected to be slow and dry, offering good turn for spinners. With the match starting at 11:00 AM IST, players will face hot and sticky conditions which will test their stamina in the midday heat. On this pitch batting first has won 60% of T20 matches. The average second innings score drops to 127, which makes chasing quite risky strategy.
NZ vs AFG – T20 Head-to-Head Records
Total matches played: 2
New Zealand won: 1
Afghanistan won: 1
Tie / No Result: 0
First Ever T20 Match
Date: November 7, 2021
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Result: New Zealand won by 8 wickets
Most Recent T20 Match
Date: June 7, 2024
Venue: Providence Stadium, Guyana
Result: Afghanistan won by 84 runs
NZ vs AFG 4th Match Prediction
New Zealand are favorites to win today’s T20 WC 4th Match 2026.
NZ vs AFG – Probable Playing XI (T20 WC 4th Match 2026)
New Zealand (Probable Playing XI):
Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner (c), James Neesham, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry/Jacob Duffy
Afghanistan (Probable Playing XI):
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan (c), Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Also, check live T20 WC match betting odds on trusted cricket betting sites.
New Zealand vs Afghanistan — Today’s Match Prediction
Scenario 1
Match toss prediction: AFG to win the toss and opt to bat first
AFG scores: 165–175
Who will win today’s match: AFG to win today’s T20 WC 4th Match 2026
Scenario 2
Match toss prediction: NZ to win the toss and opt to bat first
NZ scores: 200–220
Who will win today’s match: NZ to win today’s T20 WC 4th Match 2026
Today Match Winning Percentage
T20 Betting Tips for NZ vs AFG 4th Match T20 WC 2026
- Who will win the toss Today: AFG to win the toss and elect to Bat first.
- Top Batter Performance: Daryl Mitchell
- Top Bowler Performance: Rashid Khan
- Today’s T20 betting tips: Team batting first are safe bet to play today’s T20 WC 4th Match 2026.