NZ vs CAN Match 31 Results

9:05 AM IST Eyes on the next big one - So that is it from this entertaining game, where New Zealand sealed qualification to the Super 8s along with South Africa from Group D, officially knocking Canada, Afghanistan and UAE out of the race. The focus now shifts to a huge clash in Group B at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, where Zimbabwe take on Ireland. A win for the Chevrons will take them through to the next round and eliminate Australia from the Super 8 race. The rain has delayed the toss for that game, but we hope that the weather clears soon. See you there. Cheers!

9:01 AM IST Yuvraj's effort will inspire people back home - Dilpreet Bajwa, the captain of Canada, says that they were confident with the total, with the wicket turning and helping their spinners. Adds that they were in the contest, especially after removing the two openers, but playing one bowler short and lacking the experience of someone like Kaleem Sana limited their options. Bajwa mentions that they lost too many wickets in the Powerplay in the two games, and the plan was to bat deep. He praises Yuvraj Samra for his fantastic hundred and says that for a 19-year-old to do it on a world stage is a proud moment for him and Canadian cricket as well. Dilpreet further adds that matches like this show that the associate nations can compete, but they need to play more matches against the big teams, and then they can even win these matches. Tells that performances like this from Yuvraj Samra will inspire people back in the country to take up cricket. Ends by saying that they will play a full-strength team in the next game and go hard to finish on a good note.

8:55 AM IST Santner on the road to recovery - New Zealand's stand-in skipper for the day, Daryl Mitchell, shares that Mitchell Santner's health has improved as the day has gone on and should be fine for the next game. He has high praise for Yuvraj Samra, saying he played beautifully and that you have to take your hat off to him. Believes that on that surface, keeping Canada to 173 was a commendable effort from his bowlers. Mitchell mentions that the team backs everyone in the side to step up and deliver, starting with the Bash Brothers (Finn Allen and Tim Seifert) at the top of the order. Tells that he loves playing at Chepauk in front of such an energetic crowd and many players in the team, including himself, have been part of the CSK family. Shares that he is looking forward to the Super 8s, with a trip to Colombo coming up next.

8:50 AM IST Yuvraj’s magic, late overs letdown - Earlier in the game, after electing to bat first, Canada posted a fighting total courtesy of a magnificent century from Yuvraj, who also became the youngest player to score a hundred in T20 World Cups. He and Bajwa put on 116 for the opening wicket, laying a strong platform, but had the skipper been a touch more proactive, along with the other batters around Samra, Canada might have pushed beyond 200. New Zealand pulled things back impressively at the death, conceding just 23 runs in the final three overs. Duffy was the standout with 1 for 25, while apart from Phillips and Cole McConchie, every bowler managed to get among the wickets.

8:49 AM IST A tough day out - Canada managed to remove both Kiwi openers in the Powerplay through Dilon Heyliger and Saad Bin Zafar, but the skipper might have missed a trick by bringing himself on in the fifth over, which went for 15 and released the pressure, and from there they never really recovered. The counter-attack from the Black Caps proved too strong for the Canadians, but they can still take plenty of learnings from this outing.