New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said the Black Caps will be keeping a close eye on the clash between Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Friday, February 27, in Pallekele.
New Zealand’s T20 World Cup semi-final hopes suffered a significant setback after their four-wicket defeat to England at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Despite the loss, the Kiwis remain second in the points table with three points and a net run rate of +1.390. However, their qualification is now under threat. If Pakistan defeat Sri Lanka by 65 runs or more, or chase down the target within 13 overs, they will advance to the semifinals, eliminating Santner’s side.
Santner acknowledged that his team will be following the Super 8 contest closely, hoping Pakistan fall short against Sri Lanka.
“Yeah, we’ll probably be watching the game tomorrow. So, yeah, thank you,” Santner said after the match.
‘REHAN WASN’T FAZED’
Santner also reserved praise for Rehan Ahmed, who produced a crucial 19-run cameo off just seven balls, striking one four and two sixes to help England chase down 160 with three balls to spare. He also featured in an unbeaten 44-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Will Jacks, who contributed 32 off 18 deliveries.
Santner noted that Rehan showed remarkable composure under pressure and did not let the high-stakes situation overwhelm him.
“He showed his class with the bat, a good player of spin and he wasn’t fazed. Set up by Bants (Tom Banton) and Curran (Sam Curran) after losing a few at the start,” Santner added.
With 43 runs required from the final three overs, New Zealand appeared to be in control and firm favourites to seal the win. However, Rehan Ahmed and Will Jacks had other ideas, combining to help England snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Rachin Ravindra, fresh from his match-winning performance against Sri Lanka, once again impressed with the ball, finishing with outstanding figures of 4-0-19-3. Despite his valiant effort, though, New Zealand were unable to close out the game and ultimately fell short.
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