New Zealand vs Afghanistan Live Score, T20 World Cup 2021: NZ beat AFG, IND out of WC

"This has been our plan to win the toss and put on a decent total on the board. But we didn't start well. Then Najib brought us back but again we didn't finish back. 150-160 would have been a decent total on this pitch. On this kind of pitch, this is not a decent total. Still we tried our best with the ball. We played good cricket in the tournament, and we will take a lot of positives. We need to correct the mistakes we made with the bat," Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi said in his post-match interview. 

"Strong performance. We know how dangerous this Afghanistan side is. Nice for us to be able to set the tone with the ball, take wickets early and then keep them to below-par total. 150-155 would have been par. It has certainly been a challenge to adjust quickly to three different venues. Another strong challenge coming up. England are a very strong side. For us it is important we keep learning and building on. Incredibly tough competition. Looking forward to the occasion," New Zealand skipper said in his post-match interview as reported by ESPNcricinfo. 

New Zealand have won their last group game of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup to advance to the semi-final stage. The Kiwis beat Afghanistan by 8 wickets to storm into the semis in style. 

Rashid Khan has picked the second wicket for Afghanistan as he dismissed Martin Guptill for 28 off 23 balls. 

Mujeeb Ur Rahman has picked his first wicket to help Afghanistan return in the game. New Zealand are 26/1 as Dary Mitchell has been dismissed for 17 off 12 balls. 

Afghanistan have posted a total of 124 runs in 20 overs, courtesy of 48-ball 73 runs from Najibullah Zadran. New Zealand will now need 125 runs to win the game and qualify for the semi-final stage. 

Najibullah Zadran scored his second fifty of the ongoing T20 World Cup as he hit a 33-ball half-century against New Zealand on Sunday. 

Ish Sodhi has struck in his very first over to dismiss Gulbadin Naib for 15 off 18 balls. Afghanistan are in deep trouble as they have lost 4 wickets in 10 overs for just 56 runs on the board. 

Tim Southee dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz LBW for 6 off 9 runs. Afghanistan have lost their third batter inside the powerplay. 

Trent Boult picked his first wicket of the game as he dismissed Hazratullah Zazai for just 2 off 4 balls. Afghanistan are batting at 12/2 in 3.2 overs. 

Adam Milne has picked the first wicket for the Kiwis as he dismissed Mohammad Shahzad for 4 off 11 balls. Afghanistan are batting at 8/1 in 2.2 overs. 

Afghanistan's Playing XI: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (captain), Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman.

New Zealand's Playing XI: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (captain), Devon Conway (wk), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult.

Afghanistan skipper Mohammad Nabi has won the toss against New Zealand and has decided to bat first. 

Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who missed out against India in Afghanistan's previous outing, was one of the first Afghan players to turn up for practice today ahead of the highly anticipated clash against New Zealand. 

In the two matches that both teams have faced off against each other in the shortest format of the game, it is New Zealand who have come out on top on both occasions. Both faceoffs have taken place in T20 World Cup games.

New Zealand's Predicted XI: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Devon Conway (wk), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult

Afghanistan's Predicted XI: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (c), Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Naveen-ul-Haq, Hamid Hassan

New Zealand's Squad: Kane Williamson (captain), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Adam Milne (injury cover).

Afghanistan's Squad: Mohammad Nabi (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Mohammad Shahzad, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Hamid Hassan, Farid Ahmed Malik, Naveen ul Haq. Travelling Reserves: Sharafuddin Ashraf, Samiullah Shinwari, Dawlat Zadran, Fazal Haq Farooqi.

The 40th match of the ICC T20 World Cup will see New Zealand lock horns against Afghanistan at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The match is slated to begin at 3:30 pm IST with the toss scheduled for 30 minutes prior to the start of play. Both New Zealand and Afghanistan eye a win in today's clash in order to qualify for the knockout stage of the World Cup.