England got the better of New Zealand in a thrilling Super 8 Group 2 match of the T20 World Cup 2026 tournament in Colombo on Friday.
England’s win meant that New Zealand’s wait to secure qualification for the T20 World Cup semi-finals continued, meaning that they will need to hope Sri Lanka defeat Pakistan in Pallekele on Saturday.
What happened in the first innings of the match?
Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first. Initially, their decision to do so proved to be effective, as openers Tim Seifert (35) and Finn Allen (29) got off to a flying start.
The two of them got New Zealand to their 50-run mark in just 5.2 overs, and the Kiwis posted 54 runs in the powerplay phase without losing a wicket.
New Zealand’s gradual downfall
New Zealand’s gradual downfall in their batting began right from the first wicket. Seifert and Allen forged 64 runs for the first wicket before the former was stumped by Jos Buttler off Adil Rashid’s delivery in the seventh over.
Finn Allen followed suit in the eighth over after he was caught by Jacob Bethell at deep midwicket off Will Jacks’ delivery. Rachin Ravindra (11) is known to be a big-hitter in limited-overs formats, but there was nothing significant from the 26-year-old on Friday.
He managed to score one boundary, but that was it, as he too fell to the hands of Bethell in the deep, off Rehan Ahmed’s bowling. Rehan was bowling his first delivery of the tournament, and the wicket of Rachin Ravindra was definitely something to celebrate for England.
From 63/0 at one stage, New Zealand were restricted to 123/4 in the 15th over following the dismissal of Mark Chapman. And barring a knock of 39 runs from 28 balls by Glenn Phillips, the Kiwis couldn’t do much in the second half of their innings as they were restricted to 159/7.
New Zealand’s dream start in England’s chase
New Zealand, though, got off to a dream start in England’s run chase as openers Phil Salt (2) and Jos Buttler (0) were dismissed in the first two overs.
Matt Henry removed Salt whereas Lockie Ferguson got rid of Buttler, whose poor form in the T20 World Cup continued. Harry Brook (26) and Jacob Bethell (21) then forged a 48-run stand for the third wicket, but England lost momentum once again as both of them were dismissed in quick succession.
How England turned it around
England found themselves in trouble at 58/4 following the duo’s dismissals, but they found a way back into the game on the back of a 42-run stand between Tom Banton and Sam Curran. England, however, not out of the woods just yet, as both of their dismissals left England reeling at 117/6 in the 17th over.
However, England have come back from behind before, and they did so once again, as Will Jacks (32*) and Rehan Ahmed (19*) combined 44 runs for the seventh wicket and power England to a four-wicket win with three balls to spare.
Will Jacks slammed four fours and one six during his 18-ball knock, whereas Rehan smashed a four and two sixes in the seven balls that he faced.
Should Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in Pallekele on Saturday, New Zealand will qualify for the semi-finals. On the other hand, Pakistan need to beat Sri Lanka by either 65 runs or chase down the total in 12.4 overs in order to qualify for the last four stage.
