Chennai | Young Canada opener Yuvraj Samra scored a defiant century as he weathered the pace of the likes Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson to steer their side to 173 for 4 against New Zealand in a T20 World Cup Group D match here on Tuesday.

Samra blazed 110 off 65 balls, while skipper Dilpreet Bajwa added 36, forging a 116-run opening stand that kept the Kiwi bowlers at bay.

The 19-year-old Samra's 100 came off 58 balls as he became the youngest batter to score a hundred in T20 World Cup history.

Bajwa's wicket off the last ball of the 14th over gave New Zealand brief relief, but 19-year-old Samra kept punishing the attack, smashing 11 boundaries and six sixes to dominate the bowling and score his maiden century across formats.

Earlier, Canada won the toss and elected to World Cup Group D match here on Tuesday.

Canada have lost all their matches so far and are at the bottom of the group, while New Zealand, with four points are second behind South Africa. A win for the Kiwis wil bring them on par with the Proteas.

Brief scores: Canada 173 for 4 in 20 overs (Yuvraj Samra 110, Dilpreet Bajwa 36; Kyle Jamieson 1/41).