England scripted a remarkable comeback in Colombo, defeating New Zealand by 4 wickets in a T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 encounter. Needing 160, they wobbled at 117/6 but Jacks and Ahmed’s blitz finished the job with three balls left.
Early blows saw Salt out for 2 and Buttler for duck, both to Henry. Brook-Bethell’s 48-run stand (26 & 21) offered hope. Curran-Banton’s 42 (24 & 33) pushed forward, but at 117/6, pressure mounted.
Will Jacks stole the show, unbeaten on 32* (18 balls), hammering 22 in the 18th over against Phillips. Rehan Ahmed’s 19* (7 balls) completed a 44-run stand off 16 deliveries. Ravindra’s 3/19 was NZ’s best.
NZ’s innings: 159/7. Explosive openers Seifert (35) and Allen (29) added 64 quickly. Phillips’ classy 39 stood out amid modest scores from Mitchell (3), Chapman (15), Santner (9*). Rashid (2/28), Jacks (2/23), Ahmed (2) excelled for England.
New Zealand’s loss complicates semifinals; they need SL to topple Pakistan Saturday.