England beat New Zealand in T20 World Cup Super Eight thriller

2026-02-27 - 17:24

England beat New Zealand by four wickets in the Group-II T20 World Cup Super Eight thriller in Colombo on Friday night. Chasing a decent 160-run target for victory, England crossed the finish line with four wickets and three balls remaining despite losing key wickets of Phil Salt and Jos Buttler early. Tom Banton was the top scorer, who made 33 off 24 balls, laced with three fours and one maximum. Player of the match Will Jacks contributed a valuable unbeaten 32 off 18 balls, hitting four fours and one maximum to take his side home. Skipper Harry Brook made 26 off 24 balls with the help of three fours and one maximum. Sam Curran made 24 off 22 balls, hitting two fours and one maximum. Jacob Bethell made 21 off 16 balls, while Rehan Ahmed contributed 19 off just seven balls with the help of one four and two maximums during the match-winning 44-run partnership with Will Jacks. Rachin Ravindra bagged three wickets, while Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson and Glenn Phillips took one wicket apiece. Opting to bat first, New Zealand posted 159/7 in their quota of 20 overs. Glenn Phillips was the highest scorer for the Kiwis with 39 off 28 balls, laced with four fours and one maximum. Tim Seifert made 35 off 25 balls, hitting three fours and two maximums. Finn Allen contributed 29 off 19 balls with the help of three maximums. Mark Chapman made 15 off nine balls, Cole McConchie 14 off 12 balls, and Rachin Ravindra 11 off 13 balls. Rehan Ahmed, Will Jacks and Adil Rasheed took two wickets each, while Liam Dawson got one wicket.