T20 World Cup 2026: Glenn Phillips Overtakes Brendon McCullum To Achieve Elusive T20I Milestone For New Zealand

T20 World Cup 2026: Destructive New Zealand batter Glenn Phillips overtook former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum to become the third-highest run-scorer in T20Is for his nation during his 42-run knock against Afghanistan in Chennai on Sunday.

The 29-year-old flamboyant batter now has 2147 runs in the shortest format in 89 T20Is with an average of 31.57 and a strike rate of almost 142. Former Kiwi opener Martin Guptill is leading the list with 3531 runs, followed by Kane Williamson with 2575 runs.

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New Zealand defeated Afghanistan by five wickets in both teams' first match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Chasing a challenging target of 183 runs against last edition's semi-finalists, New Zealand batter hit seven fours and one six in his match-winning knock. Notably, the win also marked New Zealand recording their highest successful run-chase in the T20 World Cup history.

During the post-match presentation, New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner said, "It was a good day. We knew coming in that Afghanistan are a threat and they showed that today. We knew it was a massive game for us today. Started the tournament off in the right spot. It was a pretty good performance. Pretty good wicket, but Afghanistan challenged us a lot throughout this game and as we thought they would. I think that's (assessing conditions) a massive part. It was a little bit sticky to start, I guess with the 11 o'clock start, and I think, we're playing at 3PM, 7PM, different grounds... I think that's going to be a massive thing for us and probably any team throughout the competition, to, get a read on surface and conditions and assess what is the most effective ball," according to Cricbuzz.

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Earlier, Afghanistan won the toss and opted to bat first. A masterclass in middle-overs acceleration from Gulbadin Naib propelled Afghanistan to a formidable 182/6 in their opening Group D fixture against New Zealand. Despite a sluggish start and a double-strike from Lockie Ferguson, the Afghans found their rhythm to post a total that looks set to test the Black Caps.