Yuraj Samra’s record-breaking hundred went in vain as New Zealand beat Canada by eight wickets in Chennai to qualify for the Super Eight stage of the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Batting first, Canada posted a competitive 173 for 4, thanks to Samra’s 110 off 65 balls, the highest score by an Associate batter against a Full Member in the tournament’s history. At 19 years and 141 days, the left-hand opener also became the youngest to cross 50 in a men’s T20 World Cup match.

Canada’s bowlers and fielders, though, let them down. They did send back Tim Seifert and Finn Allen inside the first four overs, but Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra snatched the game away from them and ran away with it.

Phillips smashed 76 not out off 36 balls and Ravindra 59 not out off 39. The two added 146 off just 73 balls for the third wicket and took New Zealand home with 4.5 overs to spare.

Matt Henry started the proceedings with four dots to Samra but the opener got going with back-to-back fours off the last two deliveries. Samra faced only five balls in the next four overs but took James Neesham down in the final over of the powerplay. With Neesham operating from around the wicket, he pulled to fine leg, muscled over midwicket, drilled down the ground, and slashed over the covers after coming down the ground. The first three went for fours, the last carried all the way.

Samra kept the scoreboard ticking even after the powerplay. He smashed Kyle Jamieson’s slower ball through extra cover before pulling Cole McConchie for a flat six. Soon, he reached his fifty, off 36 balls.

New Zealand were without Lockie Ferguson and Mitchell Santner. Ferguson has returned home for the birth of his first child and Santner was ruled out because of a “dodgy burger”. In their absence, New Zealand’s bowling attack looked toothless, and Samra took full advantage of it. He started the 13th over by smashing McConchie for 6, 6, 4. Dilpreet Bajwa and he added 116 in 14 overs for the first wicket; Bajwa’s contribution was only 36 off 39 balls.

Samra brought up his hundred off 58 balls, getting there with a toe-ended four past short third. He had a reprieve on 103 when Neesham dropped him at long-on off Henry. The ball burst through Neesham’s hands and went for four. Samra was eventually dismissed in the final over, caught at deep-backward square-leg by Phillips on the second attempt.

Canada’s indiscipline with the ball was evident from the very first over. Jaskaran Singh’s second delivery was down the leg side, which Allen helped to the fine-leg boundary. It was followed by an off-side wide and a front-foot no-ball. Allen attempted a quick single off the latter. The short midwicket fielder missed with the throw at the bowler’s end, and a sloppy effort from the fielder backing up resulted in four overthrows.

Allen then took apart Dilon Heyliger, hitting his first two balls for a four and a six. Seifert also threw his bat around and got one over the covers. Shivam Sharma, the chasing fielder, was casual in his effort near the boundary line and failed to flick the ball back.

Saad Bin Zafar provided temporary relief by having Seifert caught at mid-off. When Allen was caught in the covers off a Heyliger delivery that stuck in the pitch, New Zealand were 30 for 2 in 3.1 overs. But Canada continued to be profligate in the field. Bajwa started the fifth over with a no-ball, and also bowled a wide before Ravindra hit him for two fours in three balls. That allowed New Zealand to finish the powerplay on 60 for 2.

Phillips took the lead after the powerplay. He hit Saad for back-to-back fours before launching Bajwa for a straight six. When Ansh Patel came on to bowl, Phillips treated him with the same disdain, hitting the left-arm wristspinner for three sixes in eight balls. The last of those sixes brought up Phillips’ fifty, off 22 balls.

By the end of the 11th over, New Zealand needed only 53 from 54 balls. Phillips, though, was in a hurry. Against Saad, he switched his hands and pulled him for a six over deep extra-cover, even though there was a fielder at the boundary line. Ravindra, who had taken the backseat, finished the over with another six. A few minutes later, he pulled Jaskaran through midwicket to bring up the victory.

Brief scores:
New Zealand 176 for 2 in 15.1 overs  (Finn Allen 21, Glenn Phillips 76*, Rachin Ravindra 59*, Dilon Heyliger 1-42,  Saad Bin Jaffar  1-29) beat Canada 173 for 4 in 20 overs (Yuraj Samra 110, Dilpreet Bajwa 36, Navneet Dhaliwal 10; Matt Henry 1-28, Jacob Duffy 1-25, Kyle Jamieson 1-41, James Neesham 1-38) by eight wickets

[Cricinfo]