NZ vs AFG | Twitter reacts as Allen and Seifert laugh in shared embarrassment after collision leads to drop

Afghanistan got off to a sluggish start on a relaid Chennai deck in their 2026 T20 World Cup opener against New Zealand on Saturday, after winning the toss and choosing to bat first. Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran struggled to time the ball early on, the former's lack of runs clearly not for a lack of intent, as Matt Henry and Jacob Duffy peppered the hard lengths with unnerring accuracy. The pressure was piling and something had to give but when it did, the Kiwis simply failed to grasp the opportunity with both hands.

Gurbaz was up against Henry in the third over and was greeted with a bouncer after returning to strike on the fourth delivery. However, when the Kiwi went for another one to follow-up, Gurbaz was more than ready for it as he charged down the track and attempted to heave the Kookaburra towards the leg side. Unfortunately for the Afghan, there was too much bounce for his plan to work as the ball took the top edge of the bat and flew miles into the air behind the stumps. Wicket-keeper Tim Seifert and his opening partner Finn Allen, partnered at short-fine leg, hared after the ball that seemed to have suspended itself in the sky before eventually beginning a long descent. While the duo did well to get to the ball in time, Seifert made a call to go for the catch but slowed down in his tracks to avoud over-running the ball which seemed to confuse Allen as he tried to grasp at the ball too. An inevitable collission followed as the two ended up prone on their stomachs with the ball in neither's hand, having landed safely after their tackle. Allen and Seifert immediately looked at each other, the former failing to contain a mischevious and slightly embarrassed grin, while Gurbaz walked away scot free.

Twitterati was thoroughly enthralled.

Dropped!

Let's see!

Yes

100%

Collided

LoL

True

Oh

Haha

Seated