Sports : In the Super-8 stage of T20 World Cup 2026, England has strengthened its claim for the semi-finals by registering a spectacular win against New Zealand. In this match played on the grounds of Colombo, New Zealand batted first and scored a challenging score of 159 runs. In reply, England had a bad start. But the aggressive batting of the middle order and lower order achieved the target in just 19.3 overs. Now New Zealand will have to depend on Pakistan’s match.
New Zealand’s steady start
Finn Allen and Tim Seifert provided an aggressive start to the New Zealand team, which came to bat first after losing the toss. Seifert played a quick inning of 36 runs in just 25 balls. While Allen scored 29 runs. Glenn Phillips took command of the team in the middle order and took the score to 159 by adding 39 runs. Although. England’s bowlers kept the Kiwi batsmen under control in the middle overs and prevented them from moving towards a big score.
Effective performance by England bowlers
For England, Adil Rashid and Will Jacques showed the magic of their spin and took two important wickets each. Rashid slowed down the run pace of the Kiwi team by dismissing set batsman Seifert. There itself. Rehan Ahmed completely pushed New Zealand on the backfoot by sending a dangerous player like Rachin Ravindra to the pavilion early. The fast bowlers also bowled with the correct line length. Due to which big hitters like Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell could not play shots openly at the crease.
England’s faltering top order
Chasing the target of 160 runs, England’s start was like a nightmare. Opener Phil Salt was out after scoring only 2 runs. Whereas captain Jos Buttler could not even open his account. Captain Harry Brook definitely showed struggle by playing an inning of 26 runs. But the match seemed stuck due to the early dismissals of Jacob Bethal and Sam Curran. Kiwi spinner Rachin Ravindra bowled lethally and created deep pressure by dismissing three key players of England.
Explosive innings of Will Jacques
When England was in trouble. Then Tom Banton laid the foundation of the team by playing a patient inning of 33 runs. After this, Will Jacques and Rehan Ahmed turned the game of the match by making an incredible partnership of 44 runs in just 16 balls for the seventh wicket. Jacques scored an unbeaten 32 runs and led England to a memorable victory. His aggressive batting shook the confidence of New Zealand bowlers. This thrilling victory thoroughly entertained the fans and England remained on top.
Fading hopes of semi-finals
After the defeat in this important match, the journey to the semi-finals has now become very uncertain for New Zealand. The golden opportunity to qualify directly has passed them by. Now they will have to wait for the result of the match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka to make it to the semi-finals. If the equation is not in favor. So Kiwi team may be out. There itself. England have maintained their momentum and now their eyes are on the final title to be held on March 8.
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