Afghanistan deliver perfect farewell to Trott with dominant Canada victory

Afghanistan closed out their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a resounding 82-run victory over Canada at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday, delivering a memorable farewell to head coach Jonathan Trott.

Although the 2024 semi-finalists missed out on a place in the Super 8s, they ensured Trott’s final game in charge ended on a high. Asked to bat, Afghanistan compiled an imposing 200 for 4, built around a superb unbeaten 95 from Ibrahim Zadran. Timing the ball sweetly and pacing his innings to perfection, Zadran struck seven fours and five sixes, falling just five runs short of a deserved century. He shared a brisk 47-run opening stand with Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who set the tone with a lively 30 off 20 balls.

After an early wicket, Zadran consolidated with Sediqullah Atal, the pair adding a decisive 95 runs for the third wicket. Atal contributed a fluent 44 off 32 deliveries, rotating strike cleverly before accelerating when required. Late flourishes from Azmatullah Omarzai and Darwish Rasooli pushed the total to the 200-mark. For Canada, Jaskaran Singh was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, though he proved expensive.

Chasing 201, Canada struggled to keep pace. Afghanistan’s attack struck early, with Mujeeb Ur Rahman removing Dilpreet Bajwa and Omarzai dismissing Navneet Dhaliwal, who was playing his final international match. Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan shared a warm handshake with Dhaliwal as he walked off, a touching moment amid the contest.

The defining spell, however, came from veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi. Turning back the clock, Nabi produced a masterful display of off-spin, finishing with extraordinary figures of 4 for 7 in four overs. He dismantled the middle order, dismissing Yuvraj Samra, Harsh Thaker, Nicholas Kirton and Dilon Heyliger to extinguish any hopes of a revival.

Rashid chipped in with two for 19, including the wicket of Saad Bin Zafar, as Canada were held to 118 for 8 in their 20 overs. Though Thaker (30) and Bin Zafar (28) offered brief resistance, the target was always out of reach.

For Afghanistan, the result carried emotional weight. Their World Cup journey may have ended short of expectations, but the emphatic victory reflected the progress made under Trott — and ensured his tenure concluded with pride and applause rather than disappointment.