Tim Seifert’s trademark aggression powered New Zealand to a comfortable five-wicket win over Afghanistan in their Group D clash of the T20 World Cup on Sunday.

Seifert smashed a commanding 65 off 42 balls, laced with seven fours and three sixes, underlining why he is fondly known as ‘Bam Bam’ in New Zealand circles. Chasing 183, the Kiwis reached the target with ease despite an early wobble.

New Zealand were rocked early by Mujeeb ur Rahman, who struck twice in the second over to remove Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra off successive deliveries, leaving them reeling at 14 for two.

Seifert steadied the chase alongside Glenn Phillips, and the duo turned the tide with a decisive 74-run stand for the third wicket in just 47 balls. Phillips chipped in with a brisk 42 off 25 balls, targeting Rashid Khan with a four and a six to shift the momentum firmly in New Zealand’s favour.

Seifert brought up his fifty in 39 balls with a towering six off Mohammad Nabi. As the innings progressed, the pitch eased considerably, offering less assistance to the spinners.

Nabi eventually dismissed Seifert, while Rashid accounted for Phillips, but the damage had already been done. Seifert had earlier been dropped on 48 by Rashid off his own bowling and made Afghanistan pay for the lapse.

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Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner calmly finished the job, knocking off the remaining 28 runs without fuss.

Earlier, Afghanistan posted 182 for six, a total that always felt slightly under-par on a surface with some slowness. Gulbadin Naib led the charge with a fluent 63 off 35 balls, sharing a 79-run third-wicket stand with Sediqullah Atal (29 off 24).

Afghanistan’s innings lacked late acceleration, reflected in a steady scoring pattern: 44 for 2 in the powerplay, 77 for 2 at halfway, and 130 for 3 after 15 overs. The final five overs yielded 52 runs, but the hosts would have hoped for more.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz looked in good touch before Lockie Ferguson shattered his stumps with a slower delivery. Ferguson struck again in the same over to dismiss Ibrahim Zadran, using his cutters to good effect.

Naib reached his fifty in just 29 balls and injected momentum by taking Jacob Duffy for two sixes and a four. However, his dismissal to part-time spinner Rachin Ravindra in the 18th over halted Afghanistan’s push at the death. Azmatullah Omarzai’s late sixes helped Afghanistan cross 180, but it proved insufficient against a clinical New Zealand chase.