In the Group 2 Super 8s match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, England defeated New Zealand by four wickets on Friday at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo thanks to a late cameo of an undefeated 19 off 7 deliveries and a steady 32 off 18 deliveries from Will Jacks.

Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson bowled excellently to start the chase of 160, taking wickets for New Zealand in the first eight deliveries. Jos Buttler and Phil Salt were dismissed early, leaving England with just two runs.

During the first six overs, New Zealand had a fantastic opportunity to seize control. But Harry Brook, the captain, kept the hunt going. At the conclusion of the required powerplay, he and Jacob Bethell formed an undefeated 45-run partnership for the third wicket.

With his first ball of the game, Glenn Phillips made an early impression by dismissing Brook for 26, giving New Zealand a crucial third wicket.

Then, Phillips made a spectacular catch to throw out Bethell (21) as he lunged forward. As the pressure mounted, England lost two wickets in two overs and found themselves in deep difficulty.

Earlier, New Zealand had a solid start to their innings after choosing to bat first. Jofra Archer gave a good opening over but quickly lost his composure. Tim Seifert and Finn Allen both took their time and countered some excellent bowling from Liam Dawson and Sam Curran.

After the first over produced no runs, they applied pressure to the English bowlers. New Zealand finished the required batting powerplay with 54 runs in the following five overs. The English bowlers did not take a wicket during this time for the first time in seven games.

With a daring, playful delivery that pulled Tim Seifert (35) out of his crease, Adil Rashid ended the opening partnership of 64 runs. With 41 wickets in T20 World Cups, Rashid surpassed Wanindu Hasaranga on the all-time list and got closer to breaking Shakib Al Hasan’s record for most wickets. Right now, the only people ahead of him are Adam Zampa (44) and Rashid Khan (43).

Finn Allen (29) holed out in the deep and found Jacob Bethell to end Will Jacks’ stay in his opening over. Due to Allen’s poor decision, New Zealand’s explosive start was halted as both set batters were quickly returned to the hut.

All-rounder Glenn Philips was the only hitter to demonstrate any resistance against England’s excellent spin after the openers left. He and Rachin Ravindra (11), who mistimed a pull shot to mid-wicket off Rehan Ahmed, stitched a partnership of 31 runs. Then, Mark Chapman (15) joined Philips for 26 runs, but he left as soon as the Kiwis kept losing wickets.

Will Jacks took his second wicket of the evening to cap off an incredible England performance. As England continued to exert pressure towards the conclusion of the innings, he removed Phillips, who had scored a respectable 39 off 28 balls. New Zealand’s inning began to collapse after they lost their sixth wicket.

Rashid, Jacks, and Ahmed each took two wickets to reduce New Zealand to 159/7, and the Kiwis lost the final four wickets for just 36 runs, never recovering their innings.

After demonstrating resilience with the bat, all-rounders Sam Curran and Tom Banton stitched a partnership of 42 off 35 deliveries. To help New Zealand gain more control, Ravindra claimed his second wicket of the game, the crucial wicket of Sam Curran (24), in his 50th T20I outing. Curran was enticed to hit the ball in the air by Ravindra, who bowled from slightly back of a length. Ravindra was brilliant under the lights against England after a fantastic effort against Sri Lanka.

Phillips demonstrated that he was the X-factor as New Zealand got closer to victory with two deft catches, a wicket of his own, and the highest score for the Black Caps.

With 43 needed off 18, Philips had the belt treatment, going for 22 runs after being hammered for two maximums and as many boundaries. Santner was delivering the penultimate over when he was hit for a maximum for 16 runs on the final delivery and a boundary on the first delivery by Rehan Ahmed.

As England overcame the Kiwis by four wickets with three balls left, Henry, bowling the final over, was unable to defend much.

Brief scores:

New Zealand 159/7 in 20 overs (Glenn Philips 39, Tim Seifert 35; Will Jacks 2-23, Adil Rashid 2-28)
England 161/6 in 19.3 overs (Tom Banton 33, Harry Brook 26; Rachin Ravindra 3-19, Lockie Ferguson 1-14)