England vs New Zealand, 49th Match, Super 8 Group 2 (Y1 v Y2), ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 - Commentary

England end the Super 8s unbeaten. They now await their semi-final opponent. New Zealand on the other hand will be eagerly watching tomorrow's game between Pakistan and Sri Lanka to know their fate. That's it for this game. We will leave now. Do join us tomorrow for all the action. Till then good night and take care.

Harry Brook | England captain: "Yeah, and we've seen what Reh (Rehan) can do in the nets and he's gone out there and played beautifully there and taken the game away from them alongside Jacksy who's got his fourth man of the match this tournament, which is the most ever, he's just told me, so he's pretty happy with that performance. (on Rehan) Yeah, and there's conversations to be had, but we said from the start of the comp, when we said it to the group, we're going to select on conditions and we thought that today was the perfect opportunity to bring him in and he did an amazing job. (did New Zealand test you?) Yeah, absolutely. And they're a very strong side that I think they've gone unbeaten before now. So, yeah, we played against them before Christmas. We knew how strong they were and they do everything so well. They do the little things really well with the running between the wickets and then they've got some extreme power with the batting and likewise with the bowling. They're a very skillful outfit. (on Buttler) Yeah, I think there's been a lot said about Jos. I said the other day that he's played 150 games for England and people probably need to take a little step back from that. He's probably the best white ball player to have ever played the game. He's in a little bit of a rut now, but I think that's an exciting thing for everybody in the world to know what he could produce in the next couple of games. He's obviously got a lot of fire in the belly and he wants to go out there and show everybody what he's made of. Look he averages 34, striking at 145 in 150 games and yeah, he's a phenomenal player and I have no doubts he'll go out and do well. (on Jacks) He's just a proper batter. There was one instinct [incidence] we played against the West Indies at the start of last summer and he came out and he just leant on his first ball for four through the covers or two or whatever. That's just a good sign. I think a lot of lower-order batters come out and they block it or they try and hit a wild swing, but he's a proper batter. He's got first-class hundreds, he's played Test cricket and as we've seen tonight, he's got immense power as well. (on their choice of opponent for the semi - India or West Indies) We're not bothered. We've just got to go out there and whoever we're facing, they're going to be a tough opponent anyway. We've already played against West Indies at the Wankhede already, so a little bit of experience there. It's nice to go back to a ground that we've already played on as well. So yeah, both sides are very strong, very powerful teams and we've just got to go out there and try and do the little things well again. (is your side peaking at the right time?) I think so, yeah. We still haven't played that perfect game. We haven't had... Yeah, the starts that we'd like to with bat and ball, we've done well with the ball, but the bat's been a little bit off, but we've managed to get over the line in some very close games, and I think in World Cups, that holds you in really good stead going into the final stages of it."

Mitch Santner | New Zealand captain: "Was a good match (smiles). A tight match! Yeah, I think the way England kind of paced their chase, and then obviously the way Willy J (Jacks) and Rehan (Ahmed) kind of put the finishing touches was a good bit of batting. (narrow defeat the next best option?) Yeah, yeah, I mean, obviously, it would have made easier if we made our lives easy if we won. But again, you know, we played a pretty good game. There's obviously moments, both with the bat and the ball, that you can probably look back on and kind of turn the game loss a little bit. But again, yeah, credit to England and the way they played. (what were the moments does he want to look on specifically?) Yeah, I think we set up a good platform to target the last few overs and then lost a few there. We only kind of scraped to 160. Could have easily been 170. But then I guess at the end, you know, you need 40 off kind of the last three. And yeah, I think the way they were able to take down the offie and obviously at the end, that was good batting. (on their score) Yeah, I think, I guess, the other innings we kind of lost wickets throughout and then, you know, we were able to get to a score through, I guess, the last four overs. But, you know, tonight we kind of set a platform, got to the second timeout in a pretty good spot. And then, you know, maybe took some tough options straight out off the timeout. But again, you know, you need to kind of get runs and we were thinking at that stage 170, 175 would have been a really good score. (on Rehan) Yeah, for sure. I mean, you know, Rehan showed his class with the bat, you know, the last kind of couple of years and obviously a very good player of spin. So, you know, he wasn't really fazed on that wicket. So yeah, and I guess his partnership with Jacksy, but also set up by Banton and Curran after you know, I guess losing a few at the start. (on tomorrow's game) Yeah, we'll probably be watching the game tomorrow. So, yeah, thank you."

Stats by Shashikant Singh

Highest target successfully chased in (18-20) overs in T20 WC
48 by AUS vs PAK, Gros Islet, 2010 SF
48 by IND vs PAK, Melbourne, 2022
43 by ENG vs NZ, Colombo RPS, 2026*
41 by SLvs IND, Gros Islet, 2010

Most overs of spin in a T20 World Cup match
31.0 - IND vs PAK, Colombo RPS, 2026
31.0 - NZ vs ENG, Colombo RPS, 2026*
30.0 - SL vs NZ, Colombo RPS, 2026
26.0 - AUS vs PAK, Colombo RPS, 2012
25.4 - IND vs WI, Mirpur, 2014

Most PoTM awards in a single T20 WC edition
4 - Shane Watson in 2012
4 - Will Jacks in 2026*
3 - Sikandar Raza in 2022

Will Jacks | Player of the Match: "I reckon this is the best (on his fourth Player of the Match award, and which was his best?). I'm absolutely buzzing with that. To be not out at the end in a tight finish, when I went out there, it was on a bit of a knife-edge, and I'm over the moon. (how did you hold your nerve at the end?) It's just about keeping it simple. I think Rehan played an absolute brilliant innings. Everyone who came out on that pitch struggled straightaway, and it took time to get the pace of it, how slow it was. I think that six he hit second ball off Glenn Phillips kind of upped the ante and just put them on the back foot, and then I was able to play off him there. The game was kind of laid out for us with how they were going to bowl in the outfield and the conditions. So I just tried to utilise that. (what was the chat between you and Rehan?) Well, in that over of Phillips, we spoke about we need to take a risk here, I think it was 15 an over, and offspinner to two right-handers, we thought that was our matchup, and then for the other two, we talked about just hitting the gaps hard and running hard. It's a massive boundary out this side, slow surface, so you're not always going to be able to clear the field. And we picked up a couple of twos, which were crucial that over. (on his form with bat and ball) Yeah, I feel really confident right now. I feel calm in the middle, which I think is like another string to your bow. If you're calming and you know what you're trying to do, then, yeah, that could be more vital than anything. And going into the semi-finals now, I think myself and the team, we're going in the right direction. Three wins in the Super 8s against three strong sides. We're very happy."

22:28 Local Time, 16:58 GMT, 22:28 IST: There will be celebrations all around Pakistan and from those who are supporting them. They needed England to win and the job has been completed. It looked a par total when the chase began and Henry was on song. Took out Salt and then Buttler fell for a duck to leave England at 2/2. Brook counter-attacked and played probably the shot of the tournament - an audacious falling flick and it went soaring into the giant screen at deep backward square-leg. But he didn't kick on and fell to Phillips' first ball. New Zealand kept chipping away but the partnership between Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed took them over the line. Also don't discount Banton's knock. His partnership with Sam Curran ensured that England were there or thereabouts. When Banton fell, New Zealand had the advantage. Santner turned to Phillips for the 18th over and 22 came off it with a big leg-side boundary. Then Santner was taken for 16 and that left just 5 needed. A fine game and England end the Super 8s stage unbeaten. New Zealand now anxiously wait for tomorrow's game between Pakistan and Sri Lanka to find out if they go to the semis or not. Stay tuned for the post-match stuff...

England win. Checking if it's runs or legbyes.

3 off 4. Mitchell has a chat to Henry. Same field. Deep square-leg, deep mid-wicket and long-on. Two sweeper covers.

4 off 5. New Zealand need a wicket. Tense faces around. One hit will do it. Three back on the leg-side and two on the off-side.

New Zealand have a confab. Mitchell, Santner and Henry the ones talking. Looks like Henry who's gonna bowl. Meanwhile the batters towel down and have a drink. Henry now talking with Santner. 5 needed.

12 off 8. Santner taking his time.