Afghanistan sign off with massive win over Canada

Friday, 20 February 2026 00:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Ibrahim Zadran’s unbeaten 95 and Mohammad Nabi’s 4 for 7 proved too much for Canada as Afghanistan triumphed in this final match of Group D by 82 runs, signing off their T20 World Cup campaign and Jonathan Trott’s tenure as head coach in style.

In the end, a target of 201 was too much for Canada, who had the right idea when skipper Dilpreet Bajwa made the decision to field first given the dew to come. Alas, they were unable to keep tabs on Afghanistan’s innings, in part because of two drops that ultimately ended up costing 62 runs.

Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 47-run opening stand could have been capped on 9 in the second over, had keeper Shreyas Movva taken a steepling catch to remove Gurbaz for 7. Jaskaran Singh’s two strikes in four deliveries brought an end to Gurbaz (30) and Gulbadin Naib (1) at the end of the powerplay.

Canada were left rueing another error in the field when the returning Kaleem Sana shelled Zadran on 54 down at long-on for what would have been a deserved wicket for Ansh Patel. Zadran was assisted by Sediqullah Atal’s 44 through the middle overs, on his way to a 16th half-century from 33 deliveries.

Zadran eventually made it through the innings, with two fours off the last two deliveries of the innings taking Afghanistan to 200 for 4 - their highest score at a T20 World Cup.