Canada opener Yuvraj Samra smashed a scintillating hundred, but New Zealand denied the Associate team an upset as they registered a thumping eight-wicket win to book their Super Eight spot from Group D.
The result also meant that with South Africa already through to the next round from the group, Afghnaistan stand elininated.
Glenn Phillips (76 not out off 36 balls) and Rachin Ravindra (59 not out off 39 balls) smashed unbeaten half-centuries as New Zealand chased down a target of 174 with 4.5 overs to spare for their third win in four matches.
“Rachin and I were just trying to stick to our processes and take it one ball at a time,” said Phillips, who smashed six sixes and was the Player of the Match.
Earlier, Samra, named after India stalwart Yuvraj Singh, smashed 110 off 65 balls to power Canada to 173/4 following their decision to bat first.
The 19-year-old lit up the MA Chidambaram Stadium with his batting pyrotechnics, smacking 11 fours and six sixes in what is the highest individual score in the ongoing tournament. He became the youngest centurion in T20 World Cups.
Phillips said playing a T20I series against hosts India helped them learn and adapt to the conditions. “We had a good lead-up with India and learned a lot about the conditions. We’ve had to be adaptable. I think that’s really good for us going forward into the next Super Eight phase.”
Brief scores: Canada 173/4 (Yuvraj Samra 110) New Zealand 176/2 (Glenn Phillips 76 n.o., Rachin Ravindra 59 n.o.). New Zealand won by 8 wickets.
With inputs from PTI
