Chennai, February 19 – Veteran off-spin bowler Mohammad Nabi produced a brilliant spell of 4/7 as Afghanistan defeated Canada by 82 runs in their final Group D match, and concluded their participation in the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup on a high at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Thursday.
Inserted to bat first, Afghanistan amassed 200/4, powered by Ibrahim Zadran's unbeaten 95, his second successive fifty of the tournament. Sediqullah Atal contributed 44, as Afghanistan scored 200 in the tournament for the first time. Canadian pacer Jaskaran Singh was the pick of their bowlers, taking 3/52, but the visitors struggled to contain Afghanistan's acceleration in the final overs, which yielded 69 runs.
Canada's reply began brightly, with Yuvraj Samra hitting boundaries in the first over and Dilpreet Bajwa clearing the ropes twice in the next over. However, their momentum was short-lived as Mujeeb Ur Rahman bowled out Bajwa, Navneet Dhaliwal was out for a duck in his final international game, and Nabi dismissed Samra, leaving Canada reeling at 33/3 inside the Powerplay.
From there, Afghanistan's spinners tightened the screws. Captain Rashid Khan contributed 2/19 while Nabi's skill proved decisive as he dismissed the middle order. Canada's resistance came in brief bursts, with Harsh Thaker (30) and captain Saad bin Zafar (28) offering some resistance in a 53-run stand. However, the chase never recovered from the early collapse, and they eventually scored 118/8 in their 20 overs.
This result gave Afghanistan a convincing finish to a campaign that had promised much but fell short of reaching the Super Eight stage, with Jonathan Trott overseeing his final match as their head coach. For Canada, the defeat marked the end of a spirited run and glimpses of promise from their younger players.
Chasing a target of 201 was always going to be a challenging task, although Samra and Bajwa began brightly. However, their chase quickly unravelled as Mujeeb dismissed Bajwa with a googly, Dhaliwal was caught at deep backward point for a duck off his first ball, and Nabi dismissed Samra in his very first ball, as the leading edge was caught at backward point.
Nabi continued to weave his magic, dismissing Nicholas Kirton and later Thaker, to finish with his best-ever figures in a T20 World Cup. Rashid Khan dismissed Shreyas Movva and bin Zafar as the middle order folded under relentless spin pressure, as Afghanistan ended their campaign on a high.
Brief scores:
Afghanistan 200/4 in 20 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 95 not out, Sediqullah Atal 44; Jaskaran Singh 3-52, Dilon Heyliger 1-41) beat Canada 118/8 in 20 overs (Harsh Thaker 30, Saad Bin Zafar 28; Mohammad Nabi 4-7, Rashid Khan 2-19) by 82 runs
