Colombo: All-rounder Will Jacks led England to a 4-wicket victory over New Zealand in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eights.
Chasing a tough target of 160 runs, two-time champions Jags and Rehan Ahmed piled on the target with 6 wickets and 3 balls to spare.
England got off to a disastrous start as they lost both openers Phil Salt (two) and Jos Buttler (two) with just 2 runs left in two overs.
After an early setback, Jacob Bethel and captain Harry Brooke began to recover as they added 48 runs at a blistering pace.
Glenn Phillips scored 26 off 24 balls with 3 fours and a six off the first ball of the eighth over to dismiss Brooke.
Bethel followed it up in the next over, falling to Rachin Ravindra after a 16-ball 21, a sensational catch by Phillips in the deep, which saw England reduced to 58/4.
Tom Panton and Sam Curran put on 42 runs for the fifth wicket to stabilize the innings before both were dismissed in quick succession.
Banton was England’s top scorer with 33 off 24 balls, while Curran scored 24 off 22 balls.
With the scoreboard at 117/6, Jacks was joined by Rehan and the duo turned the game on its head with a militant attack, adding 44 runs off just 16 balls to lead England to a thrilling victory.
Jacks scored an unbeaten 32 off 18 balls with 4 fours and a six while Rehan scored 19 runs off 7 balls with 2 sixes and a four.
Rachin Ravindra was the best bowler for New Zealand, taking 3 for 19 in his four overs, while Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson and Phillips took one each.
Opting to bat first, the Blackcaps managed to amass 159/7 in their 20 overs.
New Zealand’s opening pair of Tim Seifert and Finn Allen added 64 runs. Adil Rashid’s 35 off 25 balls with three fours and two sixes in the final delivery of the seventh over gave England the much-needed breakthrough.
Allen followed that up in the next over, falling victim to Will Jacks, scoring 29 off 19 balls with 3 sixes as New Zealand slumped to 66/2.
Following a back-and-forth, Glenn Phillips walked out to bat at number 4 and took control of New Zealand’s batting journey with a bold knock.
The right-handed batsman top-scored for the Blackcaps with a blistering 39 off 28 balls with four fours and a six.
He also shared important partnerships with Rachin Ravindra (11) and Mark Chapman (15) until he fell to Will Jacks in the 18th over to slip New Zealand to 135/6.
All-rounder Cole McKenzie added valuable runs with 14 off 12 balls with 2 fours.
On the England side, Adil Rashid, Rehan Ahmed and Will Jacks took 2 wickets each and Liam Dawson took one wicket.