T20 WC Updates: England beat New Zealand by 4 wickets

Fri, 27 February 2026

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22:31

England's win keeps Pakistan in semi race

England 161-6 (19.3 Ovs) vs NZ 159-7 | Scorecard

Matt Henry to bowl the final over with England needing just five runs.

Will Jacks is on strike and he pulls the first delivery to deep mid-wicket and gets off the strike.

Rehan Ahmed then pulls one wide of mid-wicket and gets a single.

Four! Jacks wins it for England with a boundary through fine leg.

England beat New Zealand by four wickets and dampen their last-four hopes.

If Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by a big margin tomorrow they will be through.

22:23

Jacks cuts loose; England on top

England 155-6 (19 Ovs) vs NZ 159-7 | Scorecard

The onus is on Will Jacks to take England over the line and he gets a single (leg byes) off the first delivery off Glenn Phillips' final over.

Six! Rehan Ahmed charges down and lofts the tossed up delivery over the long-on fence.

Follows it up with a single through point.

Six! Jacks dances down and hammers the tossed up delivery over the deep mid-wicket fence.

Four! A low full toss outside off and Jacks thumps it down the ground for a boundary.

Four more! Jacks pulls one down the deep square leg fence to finish the over with a flourish.

22 runs came off the over. The equation has gone down to 22 off 12.

Mitchell Santner to bowl the penultimate over. Ahmed is on strike and he gets a boundary off the first delivery by sweeping a slower one through the gap between backward point and short third man.

A single through point and a couple through long-off follow.

Jacks then carves one to deep extra-cover and gets a couple more.

England need 12 off 8 now.

Jacks then picks up a single through backward point.

Six! Ahmed charges down and slices the loft over the long-off boundary.

16 runs came off the over. England need 5 off the final over.

22:12

England need 43 off 18 balls

England 117-6 (17 Ovs) vs NZ 159-7 | Scorecard

Ish Sodhi continues and Will Jacks pulls out the reverse sweep and gets a boundary over the backward point.

A dot later, Jacks drives one to sweeper cover and gets off the strike.

Six! Tom Banton dances down and goes inside out to clear the cover boundary.

Follows it up with a couple through deep mid-wicket.

A dot to end the over. 13 runs came off it. England need 46 off 24 balls.

Rachin Ravindra is bowling out and Will Jacks flat-bats the first delivery to long-off and gets a single.

Banton then gets a quick single by driving one to cover.

A dot later, Jacks pushes one to long-off and gets off the strike.

Out! Banton goes, caught by Mark Chapman. Full delivery outside off and Banton hammers it straight to deep midwicket.

Banton departs for 33 off 24 balls with three boundaries and a six.

Rehan Ahmed comes to the crease and plays out a dot.

Just three runs came off the over.

22:02

Curran departs; England 5 down

England 101-5 (15 Ovs) vs NZ 159-7 | Scorecard

The required rate has gone up to 10.5 with England needing 63 off 36 balls.

Rachin Ravindra is back into the attack with his third and tom Banton slog-sweeps the first delivery to deep mid-wicket and gets a couple.

A single through extra-cover follows. 100 up for England.

Out! Ravindra strikes as Curran departs after a decent knock, caught by Glenn Phillips. Length delivery on middle and Curran leans forward to loft it but ends up flat-hitting to deep mid-wicket where Phillips moves backwards and grabs it.

Curran goes for a 22-ball 24 with two boundaries and a six.

Will Jacks is the new man in and after playing out two dots he gets off the mark with a single through wide of cover.

Just four runs came off the over.

21:55

England fight back; NZ still on top

England 97-4 (14 Ovs) vs NZ 159-7 | Scorecard

Mitchell Santner is back into the attack and Sam Curran plays out a dot before pulling a shortish delivery behind square for a boundary.

Three dots follow and the required rate has gone past 10.

A single to end the five-run over.

Ish Sodhi comes into the attack and Curran greets him with a flat six over the deep mid-wicket boundary.

Two dots later, Curran works one down to long-on and gets off the strike.

A single through short fine leg to end the over. 8 runs came off it.

21:47

England need 76 off 48 balls

England 84-4 (12 Ovs) vs NZ 159-7 | Scorecard

Rachin Ravindra continues and Sam Curran plays out two dots before smashing one through wide of extra-cover for a boundary.

Follows it up with a couple through wide of long-off.

A single through extra-cover and a brace through long-on to end the 9-run over.

Glenn Phillips with his third over and Curran leans forward and drives a full delivery on stumps to long-off and gets a single.

Four! Tom Banton smashes one through deep mid-wicket and the ball bounces in front of Cole McConchie and hits the fence.

A single through long-off and a dot follow.

Curran then cuts a full delivery outside off to backward point and gets a single.

A boundary through long-off to end the over. 11 runs came off it.

England now require 76 off 48 balls.

21:40

England crumble; New Zealand on top

England 64-4 (10 Ovs) vs NZ 159-7 | Scorecard

Glenn Phillips continues and Sam Curran drives the first delivery to long-on and gets a single.

Tom Banton is on strike and misses the reverse sweep. England appeal for LBW and take the review. UltraEdge shows bat was involved and Banton survives. A single is taken.

Curran then pushes one to long-on and gets off the strike.

Two dots later, Banton picks up a couple through deep mid-wicket.

5 runs came off the over. England are 64-4 at the half-way mark, still needing 96 off 60 balls.

21:33

Bethell goes; England in deep trouble

England 59-4 (9 Ovs) vs NZ 159-7 | Scorecard

Rachin Ravindra comes into the attack and Jacob Bethell leans forward and drives one through covers but Finn Allen puts in a diving effort to cut it for a single.

A dot later, Tom Banton goes deep into his crease and punches one to deep mid-wicket for a single.

Out! Another one bites the dust. Bethell is out, caught by Glenn Phillips. Flat delivery on off and Bethell pulls it flat through deep mid-wicket but Phillips pulls off a stunning effort grab it.

Bethell goes for a 16-ball 21 with four boundaries.

Sam Curran comes to the crease and gets off the mark with a push to long-on for a single.

A dot to end the 3-run over. England need 101 off 66 balls.

21:26

Brook falls; England crumble

England 56-3 (8 Ovs) vs NZ 159-7 | Scorecard

Mitchell Santner continues and Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell play it safe by taking two singles off the first four deliveries.

Just three runs came off the over. 50 up for England in 7 overs. They need 110 off 78 balls. The required rates has climbed up to 8.46.

Glenn Phillips comes into the attack and he gets the big fish!\

Brook is out, caught by Daryl Mitchell. England are in deep trouble as they lose their captain and the batting mainstay. Tossed up delivery outside off and Brook makes room and attempts to loft it but ends up holing out to the fielder at long-off.

Brook goes for a 24-ball 26 with three boundaries and a six.

Tom Banton comes to the crease. A dot later, he gets off the mark with a single to deep square leg.

Bethell then picks up a single through backward square leg.

Four! Banton kneels down and sweeps one the deep square leg fence.

A dot to end the successful over. Just six runs came off it.

21:16

Brook, Bethell steady England

England 47-2 (6 Ovs) vs NZ 159-7 | Scorecard

Mitchell Santner comes into the attack and Jacob Bethell pulls the first delivery but the ball goes straight to the fielder at square leg before he gets off the strike with a single through mid-on.

Harry Brook then edges one to mid-on and gets a single.

Two dots later, Bethell reverse sweeps a flighted delivery and beats the fielder at point as the ball races away to the fence.

6 runs came off the over.

Cole McConchie comes into the attack and Brook carves the first delivery to square leg and gets a couple.

A couple more added to the total as Brook nudges one through the gap in the square leg region.

A dot later, Brook smashes one through deep extra cover for a boundary.

A single and a boundary through deep extra cover to end the final over of the Powerplay. 13 runs came off the over.

21:08

Brook, Bethell steady England

England 28-2 (4 Ovs) vs NZ 159-7 | Scorecard

Matt Henry continues and he starts his fresh over with a wide down the leg side.

Brook then attempts the sweep but guides the ball into his body before being beaten on the outside edge off the next delivery.

A dot later, he hits a boundary with a slap over cover point and a six over backward square leg off the final two balls of the over.

11 runs came off the over.

Lockie Ferguson continues and Jacob Bethell greets him with a boundary with a push straight down the ground.

Follows it up with a single through backward square leg.

Two dots later, Brook crunches one through backward point for a boundary.

A dot to end the nine-run over.

20:59

England lose both openers cheaply

England 8-2 (2 Ovs) vs NZ 159-7 | Scorecard

Lockie Ferguson to bowl from the other end and Jos Buttler taps the first delivery to point with soft hands.

Out! Buttler's poor run continues as he is out for a 2-ball duck. Length delivery outside off and Buttler nicks it to Tim Seifert behind the stumps.

Jacob Bethell comes to the crease and a single (leg byes) gets Harry Brook back on strike.

Brook flicks the next ball to short fine leg and gets a single.

A dot later, Bethell inside-edges one to fine leg for a boundary.

6 runs came off the over.

20:52

England suffer early blow; Salt goes

England 2-1 (1 Ovs) vs NZ 159-7 | Scorecard

England's spinners have bowled 16 overs, claiming seven wickets.

160 appears to be a par score on the tacky Premadasa surface and New Zealand will certainly fancy their chances given the spin options at their disposal.

The chase is on! England's openers Philip Salt and Jos Buttler are out in the middle.

Matt Henry to began the proceedings for New Zealand. Salt is on strike and is hit on the pad by a nip-backer going down the leg.

Salt then opens his account with a couple outside-edging one to third man.

The next delivery beats Salt on the outside edge.

Out! Salt goes, caught by Tim Seifert as he edges a moving delivery behind the stumps.

Salt departs for 2 off 4 deliveries.

Harry Brook comes to the crease and sees off the last two deliveries. Just 2 runs came off the over.

20:38

England spinners choke New Zealand

NZ 159-7 (20 ovs) vs England | Scorecard

Adil Rashid to bowl the penultimate over and Cole McConchie attempts the reverse sweep off the first delivery but misses.

McConchie then drives a tossed up delivery through covers and gets a couple.

A wide outside off follows.

Two dots later, McConchie reverse sweeps one through deep third and gets a couple.

A dot to end the five-run over.

Rashid ends his spell with impressive figures of 2/28.

Rehan Ahmed to bowl the final over and Mitchell Santner cuts one away to sweeper cover for a single.

Four! Full toss and McConchie chips it to long-on and Tom Banton attempts to catch it but the ball goes through his hands and hits the ropes.

Out! McConchie is bowled as he steps out and attempts to slog.

McConchie goes for a 12-ball 14 with two boundaries.

Matt Henry is the new man in and he gets off the mark by driving a full delivery to long-on.

A dot later, Santner hammers one over the long-off ropes for a maximum to finish the innings in style. 12 runs came off the final over.

New Zealand end up with 159/7.

20:23

New Zealand fall apart; England on top

NZ 142-6 (18 ovs) vs England | Scorecard

Will Jacks with his final over and he cleans up Glenn Phillips!

Tossed up delivery into the slot and Phillips tries to play it away from the body but the ball turns and crashes into the stumps.

Phillips goes for a 28-ball 39 with four boundaries and a six.

Cole McConchie comes to the crease and after a dot he opens his account with a boundary by sweeping one through square leg.

He then taps one to cover and gets off the strike.

Two singles to end the 7-run over.

Jacks finishes his quota with figures of 2/32.

20:18

New Zealand 5 down; England on top

NZ 135-5 (17 ovs) vs England | Scorecard

Rehan Ahmed with his second over and Glenn Phillips flicks the first delivery through mid-wicket and picks up a couple.

Phillips then cuts a shortish delivery to cover-point and gets off the strike.

Four singles come off the remaining four deliveries. 7 runs from the over.

Liam Dawson is bowling out and Phillips cuts the first delivery to deep point and gets a single.

Daryl Mitchell then under-edges one to deep backward square leg. No run on offer.

Another dot follows.

Out! Mitchell falls cheaply, caught by Will Jacks. New Zealand lose their fifth. Into the slot and Mitchell hits it straight to the long-off fielder.

Mitchell goes for 3 off 8 balls.

Skipper Mitchell Santner comes to the crease and he gets off the mark with a drive to long-on for a single.

A single through mid-wicket to end the over. Just three runs came off it.

Dawson finish with 1/32.

20:09

Rashid strikes again; NZ 4 down

NZ 125-4 (15 ovs) vs England | Scorecard

Adil Rashid is back into the attack with his third over and he gets rid of Mark Chapman with the first delivery!

Slower delivery through the air and Chapman charges down to hoist it over long-on but misses it completely and Jos Buttler whips the stumps in a flash.

Chapman goes for a 9-ball 15 with two boundaries.

Daryl Mitchell comes to the crease and after a dot he gets off the mark with a flick to long-on.

Two dots and a single to end the over. Just two runs came off it.

20:02

Ravindra departs; New Zealand 3 down

NZ 123-3 (14 ovs) vs England | Scorecard

Liam Dawson is back into the attack and Mark Chapman top-edges the pull and the ball lands safely and the batters cross over.

Phillips is hit on the pads and England appeal for LBW but refuse to review.

A dot later, Phillips drives one to sweeper cover and gets a single.

Consecutive fours! Chapman hits one over the mid-wicket fielder's head before smashing one through deep mid-wicket for back-to-back boundaries.

10 runs came off the over.

Will Jacks is back into the attack and he goes round the wicket. Phillips picks up a single off the first delivery by under-edging one to covers.

A couple through deep mid-wicket follows.

Chapman then punches one to long-on and gets a single.

A wide down the leg follows.

Philipps sweeps one to deep square leg and gets off the strike.

A single and a dot to end the 7-run over.

19:55

Ravindra departs; New Zealand 3 down

NZ 106-3 (12 ovs) vs England | Scorecard

Jacob Bethell comes into the attack and Rachin Ravindra smashes the full toss outside off straight down the ground for a boundary.

He then punches one to long-on and gets a couple.

Follows it up with a single through deep mid-wicket.

Four! Glenn Phillips drills an overpitched delivery down the ground for another boundary.

A couple through extra-cover to end the over. 13 runs came off it.

Rehan Ahmed comes into the attack and he strikes straightaway!

Ravindra is out, caught by Jacob Bethell. A shortish googly and Ravindra looks to pull it but the ball grips and he ends up miscuing it off the toe-end to deep midwicket. It was Ahmed's first ball of the tournament.

Ravindra goes for a 13-ball 11 with a lone hit to the fence.

Mark Chapman is the new man in and he gets off the mark with an inside-edge to mid-wicket.

Two more singles follow. Chapman then flat-bats one to long-on and brings Phillips back on strike.

Four! Phillips leans forward and drills one down the ground.

A couple through mid-wicket to end the over. 9 runs came off it.

19:45

England strike after Powerplay

NZ 84-2 (10 ovs) vs England | Scorecard

Adil Rashid with his second over and Rachin Ravindra plays out two dots before punching one to short extra cover to get off the strike.

Six! Glenn Phillips hammers a floated up delivery over the mid-wicket boundary.

Follows it up with a boundary by pulling a slower delivery through mid-wicket.

A dot to end the 11-run over.

Will Jacks continues and Rachin Ravindra and Phillips get a single each off the first two deliveries.

A dot follows.

Ravindra then works one down to long-off and gets off the strike.

Four! Phillips outside-edges one and the ball races away to the third man boundary.

A dot to end the over. Seven runs came off it.

19:38

Jacks strikes; NZ lose both openers

NZ 66-2 (8 ovs) vs England | Scorecard

Will Jacks comes into the attack and Finn Allen gets a single by pushing a full delivery to long-off.

A dot and a single through square leg follow.

Out! Allen departs, caught by Jacob Bethell. He attempts a lofted shot off a tossed up delivery on leg but fails to clear the mid-wicket. Bethell takes a simple catch.

He goes after making a 19-ball 29 with three sixes.

Glenn Phillips comes to the crease and sees off the final two deliveries.

Just two runs came off the over.

19:33

Rashid strikes; New Zealand one down

NZ 64-1 (7 ovs) vs England | Scorecard

Adil Rashid comes into the attack to bowl the first over after the Powerplay and Tim Seifert drives the first delivery to long-off and picks up a single.

Finn Allen then pushes the flatter delivery to long-off and gets off the strike.

Two more singles added to the total.

Six! Seifert hits one flat and clears the long-off boundary.

Out! Seifert, is out stumped. Once again he steps out but is beaten by the flighted delivery and Jos Buttler does the rest.

He goes for a 25-ball 35 with three boundaries and two sixes.

10 runs came off the over.

Rachin Ravindra is the new man in.

19:27

New Zealand finish Powerplay on 54/0

NZ 54-0 (6 ovs) vs England | Scorecard

Jofra Archer with his third over and Tim Seifert attempts to pull a shortish delivery but is beaten.

Four! Seifert lofts a length delivery over deep extra cover for a boundary.

Four more! This time with a drive through mid-off.

Six! Seifert is on song as he rocks back and pulls a shortish delivery over mid-wicket for a maximum.

Two singles through mid-wicket and square leg to end the big over. 16 runs came off it.

Sam Curran comes into the attack to bowl the final over of the Powerplay. Finn Allen punches the first delivery to mid-on. No run on offer.

Six! Allen lofts the slower ball full on the pads over midwicket for a maximum.

Two singles and a dot follow.

A dot and a couple, thanks to a misfield at square leg, to end the over. 10 runs came off it.

New Zealand finish the Powerplay on 54 without loss.

19:17

New Zealand off to a steady start

NZ 28-0 (4 ovs) vs England | Scorecard

Jofra Archer continues and Tim Siefert slogs and misses an inswinger and the ball hits his pads and rolls down to the leg side. A single (leg byes) is taken.

A dot later, Finn Allen lofts a slower delivery over the mid-wicket for a maximum.

Follows it up with a single through mid-on.

Seifert then mistimes a drive to long-on and scampers for a single.

A dot to end the nine-run over.

Liam Dawson with his second over and Seifert digs out a yorker to square leg and gets a single.

Six! Allen charges down and lofts a full delivery out of the ground for his second maximum of the innings.

Two singles through mid-wicket and long-off follow.

Two more singles to finish the over. 11 runs came off it.

19:09

New Zealand off to a cautious start

NZ 8-0 (2 ovs) vs England | Scorecard

Tim Seifert and Finn Allen to open for New Zealand in their must-win Super 8s game against England.

The Kiwis will be looking to post anything in the range of 165 to 175, which could prove a winning score on this tacky Premadasa surface.

Jofra Archer with the ball for England. Seifert is on strike. Archers begins with a slower leg-cutter and Seifert stays put and defends it with full face of the bat.

A dot later, Seifert shuffles across and attempts to scoop a nip-backer but is beaten.

Archer once again beats him on the inside-edge with a nip-backer and is given out, caught behind. Siefert challenges the on-field decision. It came off the pads, replays show. Too high to given out LBW.

Another dot to end the over. Archer starts with a maiden.

Liam Dawson to bowl from the other end. Allen is on strike. A dot later, he opens the scoring with a punch to long-on for a single.

Seifert then clips one to mid-wicket and gets a couple.

He then attempts a reverse-sweep but misses.

Four! Seifert hits the first boundary of the innings with a sweep over backward square leg.

A single to end the over. 8 runs came off it.

18:39

England bring Ahmed in; NZ unchanged

New Zealand have won the toss and have opted to bat first in their crucial Super 8s game against England at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

New Zealand pacer Matt Henry will return home after tonight's match for the birth of his second child. He might return if the Kiwis qualify for the last-four stage.

England have made one change, bringing in Rehan Ahmed in place of Jamie Overton. New Zealand have retained the team that beat Sri Lanka.

Let's have a look at the Playing XIs:

New Zealand: Tim Seifert (Wicketkeeper), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (Captain), Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson.

England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (Wicketkeeper), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (Captain), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.

"We're going to have a bat first. You have to win games if you want to win a World Cup. Nice to have a run on this wicket the other night. We know what it's going to do. Does look the same. Looked good last game and spun more than we thought. If it's flatter, have to adjust accordingly. You try and use the dimensions in your favour. Same team.," said NZ skipper Mitchell Santner after winning the toss.

England captain Harry Brook said: "Would've won the toss and batted as well. Watched the game the other night and there was spin here. They're an amazing side. If we can beat them and try and knock them out, that'll be great. I think we fielded amazing throughout the competition. There was mis-execution in the previous game."

18:21

Loss will jeopardise New Zealand's semi chances

Hello and welcome to the coverage of the T20 World Cup Super Eights match between England and New Zealand at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

The match is of greater significance to the Black Caps as they bid to seal a semifinal spot while England are already through to the last-four stage after logging two consecutive wins.

New Zealand's first Super Eights game against Pakistan was abandoned due to rain, but a 61-run win over Sri Lanka on Wednesday boosted their chances of qualification, with a win over England in Colombo guaranteeing a semifinal berth.

But if England beat New Zealand by a huge margin, then Pakistan will have a chance to make the last four provided they beat Sri Lanka on Saturday, and end the Super Eights with a better net run-rate than New Zealand.

New Zealands net run-rate (+3.050), however, puts them in strong position.

New Zealand spinners, led by their mercurial skipper Mitchell Santner, are expected to pose some difficult questions to an English line-up spearheaded by the marauding Harry Brook on a tacky Premadasa surface.

Buttler's form a concern

England, on the other hand will expect veteran Jos Buttler to up his game after having a quiet tournament so far.

The stumper-batter has endured a torrid campaign thus far, managing only 62 runs from six matches at an average of 10.33 and a strike rate of 110.71, with a highest score of 26.

NZ's win will knock Pakistan out

Pakistan, after their defeat to England, have a net run-rate of -0.461 and would not only need New Zealand to lose badly but also have to beat Sri Lanka by a heavy margin to eclipse the Black Caps' NRR.

New Zealand have shown that they are comfortable playing against as many six spinners in the match versus Sri Lanka. They actually beat the co-hosts at their own game.

At Premadasa, anything in the range of 165 to 175 can be considered a winning score if the spinners are in operation.

Squads:

England: Harry Brook (Captain), Jos Buttler (Wicketkeeper), Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Josh Tongue, Like Wood

New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (Captain), Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (Wicketkeeper), Devon Conway, Mark Chapman, Cole McConchie, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi.

T20 WC Updates: England beat New Zealand by 4 wickets

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