T20 World Cup: Important Super-8 match between New Zealand and England, will Pakistan be knocked out of the T20 World Cup today?

Colombo. The teams of New Zealand and England will face each other on Friday (27 February) in an important Super 8 match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. This match will be held in Colombo’s R. Will be played at Premadasa Stadium from 7 pm Indian time. The England team has already reached the semi-finals, while New Zealand is also close to reaching the semi-finals.

After defeating Sri Lanka by 61 runs, New Zealand’s net run rate has become +3.050. To reach the semi-finals, the Kiwi team just has to avoid a big defeat. On the other hand, the net run rate of Pakistani team is -0.461. On the other hand, Pakistan needs a big defeat of New Zealand and a huge win over Sri Lanka to reach the semi-finals. If New Zealand defeats England, then the Pakistani team will be completely out of the race for the semi-finals.

New Zealand’s spin quartet led by captain Mitchell Santner can pose a big challenge to England’s strong batting. Along with Santner, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips and Cole McConchie can prove to be effective on slow pitches.

England’s batting is in the hands of captain Harry Brook, who scored a century against Pakistan. The team will also expect a big innings from the experienced Jos Buttler. At the same time, the off-spin of Will Jacques and the left-arm spin of Liam Dawson can create problems for the New Zealand batsmen.

R. If the spinners get help on the pitch of Premadasa Stadium, then a score between 165 to 175 can prove to be match winning. Rachin Ravindra said that a strong team like England cannot be taken lightly, but the victory against Sri Lanka has definitely increased the confidence of the team. This match on Friday will decide the path to the semi-finals for New Zealand, while the English team would like to prepare for the semi-finals through this match.

England’s full squad: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethel, Harry Brook (captain), Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Ben Duckett, Luke Wood, Josh Tong and Rehan Ahmed.

New Zealand’s full squad: Tim Seifert (wicketkeeper), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (captain), Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, James Neesham, Jacob Duffy, Kyle Jameson and Devon Conway.