Will Jacks stood up for England when the two-time champions were in deep waters yet again. Will Jacks has been England’s player of the tournament and rescue man throughout. Tonight in Colombo, he first shone with the ball taking 2/23 in 4 overs to keep New Zealand to 159/7 as plenty of starts by the Kiwi batters, but no one went onto score a big enough score.
In the chase, England found themselves in trouble throughout the innings as New Zealand pushed hard throughout the match. But with 43 off the last 18 balls needed, Will Jacks stood up again with his unbeaten 32 off 18 balls and got great support from Rehan Ahmed who made an unbeaten 19 off 7 balls when it mattered the most. In the end, England held their nerves to break New Zealand hearts and give Pakistan a chance to make the semis. Life is never fair with the Kiwis. Rachin Ravindra’s 3 wickets game the Kiwis hope as well but it was not to be.
Disciplined bowling from England restricts New Zealand to 159/7 in 20 overs.Â
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Tim Seifert the keeper batter and Finn Allen came out to bat for New Zealand while Jofra Archer had ball in hand for England. Archer though he had gotten rid of Seifert early but god usage of DRS saved him. The Kiwis got off to a decent start as they played themselves in and then accelerated when it mattered with the ball hard and new.
Allen was the initial aggressor but Seifert also took on the bowling. The duo scored 54 runs off the first 6 overs of powerplay. The duo put on 64 for the first wicket in 7 overs before Seifert was the first to depart for 35 off 25 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name as Adil Rashid struck first blood for England. Rachin Ravindra came out to bat next. Just 2 runs were added to the score before Allen the other opener fell for 29 off 19 balls with 3 sixes to his name to Will Jacks. Glenn Phillips came out to bat next.
Ravindra and Phillips now had to rebuild things for New Zealand after the openers fell and it would not be easy as the pitch started to grip and turn now. The duo managed to add 31 runs for the third wicket before Ravindra fell for 11 off 13 balls with one boundary to his name to Rehan Ahmed. Mark Chapman came out to bat next. Chapman got going straightaway. The duo of Phillips and Chapman added 26 runs for the 4th wicket before Chapman fell for 15 off 9 balls with 2 fours to his name as Rashid had his man again. Daryl Mitchell came out to bat next.
Phillips and Mitchell added 10 more runs to the tally before Mitchell fell for 3 off 8 balls to Liam Dawson. Captain Mitchell Santner came out to bat next. Just 2 more runs were added to the tally before Phillips fell for 39 off 28 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name as he was cleaned up by Jacks. Cole McConchie came out to join Santner in the middle.
Santner and McConchie then got together and grinded it out there to push New Zealand forward but was no easy against English spinners. The duo added 17 runs for the 7th wicket before McConchie fell for 14 off 12 balls with 2 fours to his name to Rehan Ahmed. Matt Henry came out to bat next and got off the mark as well. Santner hit the last ball of the innings for the maximum as he stayed unbeaten on 9 off 5 balls and Henry unbeaten on 1 off 1 balls. 3 extras given by the fielding side as New Zealand finished with 159/7.
England put in a disciplined bowling display. Will Jacks was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/23 in 4 overs. Adil Rashid was great with his 2/28 in 4 overs. Rehan Ahmed finished with 2/28 in 3 overs. Liam Dawson finished with 1/32 in 4 overs. Jofra Archer finished with 0/24 in 3 overs. Sam Curran bowled an over for 10 runs. Jacob Bethell bowled an over for 13 runs. It meant England needed 160 runs to win off 20 overs.
Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed shines as England hold their nerves for a thrilling win.Â
Chasing 160 for the win, Philip Salt and Jos Buttler came out to bat for England while Matt Henry had ball in hand for New Zealand. Henry gave the Kiwis a perfect start as he removed Salt for 2 off 4 balls with 2 runs on the board. Captain Harry Brook came out to bat next. But then another wicket fell as Jos Buttler got out for a silver duck to Lockie Ferguson. Jacob Bethell came out to bat next. Brook and Bethell repaired things for England and forged a partnership together.
The duo took the score to 47/2 in 6 overs. The duo of Bethell and Brook put on 48 runs for the third wicket before Brook the man in form fell for 26 off 24 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to Glenn Phillips. Tom Banton came out to bat next. The duo of Bethell and Banton could add 8 more runs to the tally before Bethell fell for 21 off 16 balls with 4 fours to his name to Rachin Ravindra. Sam Curran joined Tom Banton in the middle.
The duo of Banton and Curran got together at 58/4 and played the middle overs very cleverly. The duo played from the middle overs to death overs and added a crucial 42 runs for the 5th wicket before Curran fell for 24 off 22 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Ravindra. Will Jacks came out to bat next. Banton and Jacks added another 17 runs to the tally before Banton fell for 33 off 24 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to Ravindra.
Rehan Ahmed came out to bat next to join Jacks in the middle. England now needed 43 off the last 3 overs. But then came Rehan Ahmed out of the syllabus and took on the bowling when it mattered and Will Jacks was the crucial performer yet again for England. He rescued England once again as New Zealand’s death bowling was exposed as well. The big overs came as Phillips’ one over went for 22 runs and that changed the game.
England had the momentum with them and drove it home as New Zealand did not find an answer under pressure. Eventually England got over the line by 4 wickets with 3 balls to spare to finish on top of Group 2 while New Zealand will have to wait for 24 hours for their fate. England finished with 161/6 in 19.3 overs with Jacks unbeaten on 32 off 18 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name and Rehan Ahmed unbeaten on 19 off 7 balls with one four and two sixes to his name. 4 extras given by the fielding side.
New Zealand bowlers tried their best but lost at the clutch moment to leave their semi-final hopes in serious jeopardy. Rachin Ravindra was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/19 in 4 overs. Lockie Ferguson finished with 1/14 in 2 overs. Matt Henry finished with 1/19 in 2.3 overs. Glenn Phillips finished with 1/43 in 4 overs. Mitchell Santner finished with 0/29 in 4 overs. Cole McConchie finished with an over for 13 runs. Ish Sodhi went for 21 runs in 2 overs. So, England win by 4 wickets with 3 balls to spare and finish top of Group 1. Will Jacks was awarded the Player of the Match yet again.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, England win by 4 wickets with 3 balls to spare to top Group 1 and will play their semi-final in Mumbai on Thursday against either India or West Indies. New Zealand are not out but have to wait for tomorrow’s result in Pallekele. Sri Lanka vs Pakistan is the last super 8 game in Group 2. Pakistan needs to win by a margin to go through while a Sri Lanka win takes the Kiwis through to the semis. All to play for in Pallekele, Kandy. It will also decide whether the first semi-final happens in Kolkata or Colombo.
Also Read:Â ICC T20 WC 2026: New Zealand Strikes Twice To Peg England Back A Little.