Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat on a good-looking wicket, with the idea that conditions might suit the bowlers a bit better later on in the day.
They got off to a slow, if slightly pedestrian start before Ibrahim Zadran was dismissed for 10 off 12 balls to put them 35-1 in the sixth over.
That wicket brought in Gulbadin Naib, who was the star of the show for Afghanistan with the bat.
He smashed 63 off 35 balls with three fours and four sixes. He was supported well by Rahmanullah Gurbaz (27 off 22 balls), Sediqullah Atal (29 off 24 balls) and Darwish Rasooli (20 off 13 balls) as Afghanistan reached 182/6 from their 20 overs.
Matt Henry (27-1 off four overs) and Mitchell Santner (23-0 off four overs) did well to limit the runs off their bowling but all of the other New Zealand bowlers took some tap.
Lockie Ferguson picked up a couple of wickets but was smashed for 40 runs off his four overs, while Jacob Duffy and Rachin Ravindra picked up a wicket apiece but also conceded over 10 runs per over.
Despite the slow start, it was a solid total and meant New Zealand would need to execute a record run chase at a T20 World Cup in order to open their tournament with a win.
Things did not get off to the best of starts with both Finn Allen (1 off 2 balls) and Ravindra (0 off 1 ball) falling in consecutive balls in just the second over of their innings.
However, a brisk 74-run partnership between Seifert and Glenn Phillips helped them to 88-2 by the ninth over and well on course.
Phillips was bowled by Rashid Khan for 42 of 25 balls in the ninth over and Seifert fell to Mohammad Nabi three overs later to leave New Zealand 124-4 but still in the driver's seat.
Mark Chappell (28 off 17 balls), Daryl Mitchell (25 not out off 14 balls) and Santner (17 not out off 8 balls) all contributed at the back end of the innings to keep the Silver Ferns on track and help guide them to what turned out to be a relatively simple five-wicket win with over two overs to spare.
South Africa captain Aiden Markram has revealed that the Proteas are nearly set for their T20 World Cup opener against Canada on Monday in Ahmedabad, with one key decision still to be made: the No 6 spot.
Suryakumar Yadav played a captain's knock to rescue ch-hosts India from a calamity before beating USA by 29 runs in their T20 World Cup opening clash in Mumbai.
Shimron Hetmyer was brilliant with the bat while Romario Shepherd starred with the ball as West Indies opened their T20 World Cup campaign with a 35-run win against Scotland in Kolkata.
Sri Lanka have been forced into a late change to their squad ahead of their T20 World Cup opener on Sunday with Pramod Madushan replacing the injured Eshan Malinga.
