New Zealand vs England T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: Will Jacks’ unbeaten 32 helps England clinch nervy win

GAME OVER! England have clinched a nervy four-wicket win over New Zealand in a crucial Super 8 Group 2 match in Colombo.

Sixteen runs come off the 19th over bowled by Mitchell Santner. Rehan Ahmed slams a maximum in the last ball, clearing Lockie Ferguson at long-off, who can only watch the ball go over.

England 155/6 (19 overs; Target 160)

Glenn Phillips bowls his final over. England, who have suffered frequent setbacks today, are right back in the game again. Rehan Ahmed and Will Jacks hammers a few boundaries all around the ground, as 22 runs come from the 18th over. England need 21 runs from 12 balls.

ENG 139/6 from 18 overs

OUT! Rachin Ravindra strikes again, this time to dismiss Tom Banton. Banton looks to go for the pull shot, but eventually dispatches to the hands of Mark Chapman un the deep.

OUT! England lose another wicket as Rachin Ravindra removes Sam Curran. Curran looks heave this length ball, but misses it completely. He eventually holes out Glenn Phillips at deep midwicket.

ENG 114/5 (16 overs; Target 160)

Eight runs come off Ish Sodhi’s first over, including a maximum from Sam Curran. It was a short ball from Sodhi, and Curran went on the back foot to pull flat and clear deep midwicket fence.

Rachin Ravindra continues, and he concedes nine runs in his second over. Glenn Phillips continues from the other end, but he goes for 11 runs. Tom Banton did a little bit of damage in this over for England as he hit a couple of boundaries.

OUT! Rachin Ravindra has struck in his first over as England lose another wicket. Jacob Bethell comes up with a flat pull shot, but Glenn Phillips makes no mistake with a diving effort at deep midwicket to take the catch. Afterall, it’s Glenn Phillips, who can make no mistake while fielding.

ENG 59/4 (9 overs; Target 160)

OUT! Glenn Phillips provides New Zealand an important breakthrough as they remove England skipper Harry Brook. Brook looked to loft this one over extra-cover, but ended up holing it out to Daryl Mitchell at long-off.

ENG 56/3 (8 overs; Target 160)

England have managed to post 47 runs in the powerplay despite losing two quick wickets in Phil Salt and Jos Buttler. Thirteen runs come from Cole McConchie’s first over.

Mitchell Santner continues as he bowls the first over after powerplay, and it’s another tidy over as just three runs come from it.

ENG 50/2 (7 overs; Target 160)

Mitchell Santner, the New Zealand skipper, brings himself into the attack. In the final ball of the over, Bethell brings out the reverse sweep to collect a boundary.

Apart from the boundary, it is a tidy over from Santner as just six runs come from it.

England skipper Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell have taken the Three Lions right back in the chase after that double early blow.

Brook slammed a four and a six off Matt Henry’s second over, whereas Bethell hit a boundary in the next over, punishing Lockie Ferguson by slamming it down the ground.

England will be looking for regular boundaries like these, and that too, without losing further wickets.

OUT! Jos Buttler’s struggles continue as he is dismissed for a two-ball duck by Lockie Ferguson. It was a short of a length ball, and Buttler looked to play on the back foot. But he got an edge off the bat that flew to Seifert.

OUT! An excellent start for New Zealand as Matt Henry removes Phil Salt early on in England’s run chase. Salt looked to play through cover point, but he got a nick off the bat that flew towards wicketkeeper Tim Seifert.

ENG 2/1 (1 over; Target 160)

Adil Rashid, Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed have taken two wickets each as England restrict New Zealand to 159/7 from 20 overs. New Zealand will be disappointed with this batting display, especially after Tim Seifert and Finn Allen got them off to a flying start.

The openers had forged 64 runs for the first wicket, but the Kiwis never really recovered from then on. England need 160 runs to win.

OUT! New Zealand lose their seventh wicket as Cole McConchie is cleaned up by Rehan Ahmed. The Black Caps will be disappointed with their batting performance tonight.

OUT! New Zealand seemed to be cruising at one stage, but right now, they find themselves in a spot of bother. The Kiwis have lost regular wickets, and the latest to make the long walk back in Glenn Phillips, who is cleaned up by Will Jacks.

NZ 147/6 (18.5 overs)

OUT! Liam Dawson strikes to get rid of Daryl Mitchell, who is caught by Will Jacks at long-off after going for a lofted shot.

OUT! New Zealand have not fired with the bat in the second half of their innings, and that is largely due to the loss of regular wickets. Adil Rashid has struck once again to dismiss Mark Chapman, who is stumped by Jos Buttler.

NZ 125/4 (15 overs)

OUT! Rehan Ahmed bowls his first ball of the T20 World Cup and he impresses right away, dismissing Rachin Ravindra. Rachin went for the pull shot courtesy a short ball from Rehan, but miscued it and found Jacob Bethell with the catch in the deep.

NZ 106/3 (12 overs)

Just seven runs come off Will Jacks’ second over. Jacob Bethell is introduced into the attack from the other end. He gets punished for a boundary by Rachin Ravindra, who goes down the ground for four runs.

A few deliveries later, Glenn Philips too punishes him for a boundary by going down the ground for four runs. An expensive over from Bethell as 13 runs come from it.

NZ 97/2 (11 overs)

New Zealand have lost their openers in Tim Seifert and Finn Allen in quick succession following a strong start to the match against England. Seiftert was stumped by Jos Buttler off Adil Rashid’s ball, whereas Finn Allen found Jacob Bethell at deep midwicket off Will Jacks’ ball.

NZ 66/2 (8 overs)

Jofra Archer is punished in his third over as Tim Seifert collects consecutive boundaries, which is then followed by a six.

He dispatched the ball over deep mid-wicket for the maximum, and that was a shot that looked effortless. Sixteen runs come from Archer’s penultimate over.

NZ 44/0 (5 overs)

Liam Dawson bowls from the other end as spin is introduced. He goes for eight runs in the over. Jofra Archer continues from the other end as he bowls the third over of the match.

Finn Allen collects the first six of the match, courtesy a loft over mid-on. Nine runs off Archer’s second over.

The match is underway in Colombo. Jofra Archer and his England teammates appeal for a caught behind against Tim Seifert. He is given out, but Seifert reviews this.

There is no spike on UltraEdge, and there is a check for LBW as well. However, ball tracking shows it’s going over leg stump. A maiden over to start off the proceedings.

Right. Time for LIVE action as the national anthems of both New Zealand and England are complete. Jofra Archer will open the bowling for England, whereas Tim Seifert and Finn Allen will open New Zealand’s batting. Seifert is on strike first up.

New Zealand: Tim Seifert(w), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner(c), Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson.

England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler(w), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook(c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.

New Zealand have won the toss in Colombo and skipper Mitchell Santner says they will bat first against England. He says the Kiwis are unchanged from their win over Sri Lanka in their previous match.

England captain Harry Brook says his team would have batted first as well. England have made one change, with Rehan Ahmed coming in for Jamie Overton.

England, who have qualified for the semi-finals, currently lead the Group 2 standings with four points from two matches with a Net Run Rate of +1.491.

New Zealand are in second place with three points from two matches, with an NRR of +3.050.

New Zealand, on the other hand, are coming on the back of a similar come-from-behind win over Sri Lanka.

The Kiwis were restricted to 167/8 after their to-order suffered a mini-collapse, but a splendid fightback from the bowlers led by Rachin Ravindra (4/27) helped them limit Sri Lanka to 107/8.

The Kiwis’ first Super 8 match against Pakistan was washed out due to rain in Colombo.

England have made a habit of winning matches from losing positions in this T20 World Cup-They did so against Sri Lanka, wherein they saw off the hosts for 95 while defending a total of 146/9.

They then clinched a nervy two-wicket win over Pakistan, chasing down 166 runs with five balls to spare.

England: Harry Brook(Captain), Philip Salt, Jos Buttler, Jacob Bethell,Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Ben Duckett, Luke Wood, Josh Tongue, Rehan Ahmed

New Zealand: Mitchell Santner(Captain), Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, James Neesham, Jacob Duffy, Kyle Jamieson, Devon Conway

The news just in is that pacer Matt Henry will leave the New Zealand camp and head back home for the birth of his second child.

“BLACKCAPS pace-bowler Matt Henry will depart the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup tonight following the team’s Super 8 match against England for the birth of him and his wife’s second child. Pending the BLACKCAPS Semi-final qualification, Henry might return to the tournament,” New Zealand Cricket posted on their website.

Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of the Super 8 Group 2 match between England and New Zealand that will take place in Colombo.