New Zealand’s opening batsman Tim Seifert crossed the 2,000-run mark in T20 Internationals after playing a brilliant inning of 65 runs in 42 balls against Afghanistan in Chennai on Sunday. “It felt good to get the job done,” Tim Seifert said after the win over Afghanistan.

Let us tell you, in the first match of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, New Zealand defeated Afghanistan by five wickets while chasing the target of 183 runs. The match was played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, where Seifert hit seven fours and three sixes.

Let us tell you, this was a historic moment for Seifert as he became the fifth New Zealand batsman to reach 2,000 runs in T20I. He took 1395 balls to achieve this milestone, which is the fifth fastest for a batsman from any full-member country. At the same time, India’s Suryakumar Yadav is the fastest batsman to reach 2,000 runs, who achieved this figure in just 1164 balls.

After the match, Seifert said on his brilliant innings and the team’s victory, “Personally, it always feels good to score runs at the beginning of the tournament, but the most important thing is that we won the match.

We lost a few early wickets in the beginning, but it felt good to get the win. Finn and I tried to put pressure on the bowlers and we felt that pace bowling would be easier than spin.”

Let us tell you, apart from Seifert, Glenn Phillips also had an important contribution in the match, who ensured the team’s victory with his tremendous innings. Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman made the match difficult early with a double-strike against Seifert, but New Zealand calmly turned the match around and won.

Earlier, Afghanistan won the toss and decided to bat first.

Gulbadin Naib’s burst of middle-overs took Afghanistan to a strong score of 182/6. Despite this challenging total, New Zealand players played calmly and achieved the target.

The post Tim Seifert became New Zealand’s fifth batsman, completed 2,000 runs in T20I, made a big statement after the victory over Afghanistan… appeared first on Buzz | ….

The post Tim Seifert became New Zealand’s fifth batsman, completed 2,000 runs in T20I, made a big statement after the victory over Afghanistan… appeared first on Buzz | ….