T20 World Cup: Afghanistan Faces Canada in Final Group Stage Clash in Chennai

Chennai. The 39th match of the T20 World Cup between Afghanistan and Canada will take place on Thursday. The match is scheduled to start at 7:15 PM at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Both teams are already out of the race for the Super-8 stage. This will be their final match of this tournament.

Afghanistan was defeated by New Zealand by 5 wickets in their first match. In the game against South Africa, they suffered a narrow defeat in a 'double super over'. Finally, the team registered its first victory of the tournament by defeating the UAE by 5 wickets.

On the other hand, Canada is still searching for its first win. They have lost all three matches against South Africa, UAE, and New Zealand.

• Head to Head 

Afghanistan and Canada have faced each other twice in T20 Internationals so far. Afghanistan won both matches.

Looking at the T20 World Cup history, Canada has played 6 matches, winning only 1 and losing 5. Meanwhile, Afghanistan has played 33 matches in the T20 World Cup, winning 13 times and losing 20 times.

Top Players from Both Teams in T20 World Cup 2026

• Rahmanullah Gurbaz: Afghanistan's Top Batter

Rahmanullah Gurbaz is Afghanistan's top scorer in this World Cup. Gurbaz has scored 111 runs in 3 matches at a strike rate of 168.18. His best score is 84 runs.

In terms of bowling, Azmatullah Omarzai has taken the most wickets for Afghanistan. He has conceded runs at an economy of 8.11 and taken 8 wickets in 3 matches. His best performance was taking 4 wickets for 15 runs.

• Yuvraj Samra: Canada's Top Run Scorer

Yuvraj Samra has scored the most runs for Canada in this tournament. He has scored 127 runs in 3 matches at a strike rate of 162.82. His best score in one innings is 110 runs.

Speaking of bowling, Saad Bin Zafar is the team's top wicket-taker. He has taken 4 wickets in 3 matches at an economy of 8.1. His best performance in this regard was taking 3 wickets for 14 runs.

• Pitch Report

Spinners generally get assistance at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. In the 8 T20 Internationals played here, the chasing team has won 5 times, while the team batting first has defended the score 3 times.

If dew settles, chasing the target will be easier. Therefore, the team winning the toss might opt to bowl first.

• Weather Conditions

The weather in Chennai will mostly be clear on Thursday. Although there might be light fog in the morning, the chance of rain is very low. The day's temperature could reach around 31-32 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature will be 22-23 degrees Celsius.

Probable Playing-XI for Both Teams

• Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan (Captain), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Ziaur Rahman.
• Canada: Dilpreet Bajwa (Captain), Yuvraj Samra, Navneet Dhaliwal, Harsh Thaker, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva (Wicketkeeper), Saad Bin Zafar, Shayan Junaid, Dillon Heyliger, Jaskaran Malhotra, Ansh Patel.