Pakistan were still alive in the ICC men's T20 World Cup 2026 as England beat New Zealand by four wickets in a Super 8 thriller at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday.
Pakistan must secure a victory by a huge margin when they face an eliminated Sri Lanka on Saturday. To leapfrog New Zealand on the net run rate, Salman Ali Aga's side need to win by 64 runs or chase in 13.1 overs. If not, the Kiwis will qualify and the first semi-final will be held at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Earlier, England restricted New Zealand to 159 for seven after the Kiwis opted to bat. New Zealand batters got starts but couldn't convert them into big scores. Glenn Phillips (39), Tim Seifert (35), Finn Allen (29) and Mark Chapman (15) failed to prolong their stay at the crease.
For England, Will Jacks (2/23), Adil Rashid (2/28) and Rehan Ahmed (2/28) were the main wicket takers, while Liam Dawson (1/32) chipped in with a wicket.
Chasing, England started shakily before some useful contributions from Tom Banton (33), Will Jacks (32 not out), skipper Harry Brook (26), Sam Curran (24) and Rehan Ahmed (19 not out) took them home in 19.3 overs. For New Zealand, Rachin Ravindra (3/19) was the pick of the bowlers.
(With PTI inputs)
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