Colombo, February 27 – Adil Rashid, Will Jacks, and Rehan Ahmed each took two wickets as England reduced New Zealand to 159/7 in 20 overs in the Group 2 Super 8 clash of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday.
Choosing to bat first, New Zealand began their innings strongly. Jofra Archer bowled a solid first over but soon lost control. Both Finn Allen and Tim Seifert settled in and countered some excellent bowling from Sam Curran and Liam Dawson. They put pressure on the English bowlers after the first over yielded no runs.
Starting with a zero run in their first over, New Zealand scored 54 runs in the next five overs to complete the mandatory batting Power-play. This was the first time in seven matches that the English bowlers did not take a wicket during this period.
Adil Rashid broke the opening partnership of 64 runs with a well-disguised delivery that drew Tim Seifert (35) out of his crease. With 41 wickets in the ICC Men's T20 World Cups under his name, Rashid moved closer to breaking the record for most wickets (Shakib Al Hasan) and also moved ahead of Wanindu Hasaranga on the all-time list. Currently, only Adam Zampa (44) and Rashid Khan (43) are ahead of him.
Will Jacks struck in his very first over as Finn Allen (29) was caught out in the deep, ending his innings off Jacob Bethell. This was a mistake in judgment from Allen, and with that dismissal, both set batters were quickly back in the pavilion, halting New Zealand's flying start.
After the openers departed, all-rounder Glenn Philips was the lone batter to show some resistance against England's quality spin and stitched a partnership of 31 runs with Rachin Ravindra (11), who mistimed a pull shot to mid-wicket off Rehan Ahmed. Mark Chapman (15) then added 26 runs with Philips, but soon he too departed as the Kiwis continued to lose wickets.
Will Jacks ended a remarkable performance for England by taking his second wicket of the night. He dismissed Phillips, who scored a solid 39 off 28 balls, as England continued to apply pressure at the end of the innings. With New Zealand losing their sixth wicket, their innings began to unravel.
The Kiwis' innings never recovered as they lost the last four wickets for mere 36 runs as Rashid, Jacks, and Ahmed each took two wickets to reduce New Zealand to 159/7.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 159/7 in 20 overs (Glenn Philips 39, Tim Seifert 35; Will Jacks 2-23, Adil Rashid 2-28) against England.
