England beat New Zealand to top Group 2 of the Super Eights in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, as New Zealand now have to wait for the Sri Lanka vs Pakistan match on Saturday (28 February) to decide their fate for the tournament, whether they will qualify for the Semi-finals or not.
England beat New Zealand in thriller
On Friday night (27 February), England faced New Zealand at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. While England already booked their spot for the Semi-finals, they are playing to secure the top spot of Group 1, while New Zealand have to avoid defeat to secure their place for the Semi-finals.
After New Zealand chose to bat first, they scored 159/7 in 20 overs. In reply, England chased down the target in 19.3 overs after losing six wickets.
New Zealand openers' strong start resulted in challenging first innings total
New Zealand got a strong start with a 64-run opening partnership between Tim Seifert and Finn Alenn. While Seifert scored 35 off 25 balls with three fours and two sixes, Finn scored 29 off 19 balls with three sixes. Since their partnership was broken, the Blackcaps were losing wickets at regular intervals, as only Glenn Phillips managed to cross the 15-run mark among others, as he scored 39 off 28 balls with four fours and one six.
Among English bowlers, Adil Rashid (2/28), Will Jacks (2/23), and Rehan Ahmed (2/28) picked up two wickets each.
England stunned after awful start
In reply, England lost both their openers cheaply, struggling at 2 for 2. Captain Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell set a 48-run crucial partnership to make the innings steady. While Brook scored 26 runs, Bethell scored 21 runs. However, the middle-order batters performed strongly to finish the game brilliantly.
First, Tom Banton and Sam Curran had a crucial 42-run partnership for the fifth wicket. While Curran scored 24 off 22 balls, Banton scored 33 runs off 24 balls.
England needed 43 runs in the last three overs, while they had four wickets in hand. Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed set up a brilliant 44-run partnership for the unbroken seventh wicket to seal the game brilliantlỵ. While the Player of the Match Jacks, who also got two wickets, scored 32 not out off 18 balls with four fours and one six, Rehan was not out for 19 off seven balls with one four and two sixes. With this remarkable win, England finished on top of Group 2 of Super Eights with six points in three games, as they won all three matches.
Pakistand need to win by huge margin against Sri Lanka
New Zealand’s fate for the Semi-final is now stuck in the Sri Lanka vs Pakistan match, which Pallekele will host on Saturday night. If Sri Lanka win, the Blackcaps will comfortably reach the Semi-finals as the Group 2 runners-up with three points. But if Pakistan win, they will also have three points, as the net run rate will decide their fate. To beat New Zealand in the Group 2 points table, Pakistan need to beat Sri Lanka by at least 64 runs or chase a target in 13.1 overs (the final scenario will be revealed after the first innings of the match). A no result will favour New Zealand, as Pakistan can only manage two points in this case.
