Colombo, Feb 28: Rehan Ahmed’s late cameo of unbeaten 19 off 7 deliveries and Will Jacks stable 32 off 18 deliveries helped England beat New Zealand by four wickets in the Group 2 Super 8s clash of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, on Friday.
Kicking off the chase of 160, Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson bowled brilliantly, taking wickets within the first eight balls for New Zealand. Phil Salt and Jos Buttler got out early, leaving England with just two runs on the board. New Zealand had a great chance to take control during the first six overs. However, captain Harry Brook steadied the chase. He and Jacob Bethell formed an unbeaten 45-run partnership for the third wicket at the end of the mandatory powerplay.
Glenn Phillips made an immediate impact by taking a wicket with his first ball in the match, dismissing Brook for 26, giving New Zealand an important third wicket.
Phillips then produced an amazing catch to dismiss Bethell (21) diving forward. England lost two wickets in two overs and suddenly faced serious trouble as the pressure increased.
Earlier, electing to bat first, New Zealand began their innings strongly. Jofra Archer delivered a solid first over but soon lost his control. Both Finn Allen and Tim Seifert settled in and countered some great bowling from Sam Curran and Liam Dawson. They put pressure on the English bowlers after the first over yielded no runs. New Zealand scored 54 runs in the next five overs to complete the mandatory batting powerplay. This was the first time in seven games that the English bowlers did not take a wicket during this period.Adil Rashid broke the opening partnership of 64 runs with a brave, teasing delivery that drew Tim Seifert (35) out of his crease.
With 41 wickets in T20 World Cups under his name, Rashid moved closer to catching the record for most wickets (Shakib Al Hasan) and also moved ahead of Wanindu Hasaranga on the all-time list.
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