Colombo, Feb 27 England relied on the performances of Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed to fight back from a difficult position and achieve a stunning four-wicket victory over New Zealand in their T20 World Cup Super Eights match here on Friday.
This result kept Pakistan's hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive, and they will look to win against Sri Lanka on Saturday, as the net run rate will be a crucial factor. England, who had already qualified for the semi-finals before Friday's victory, topped Group 2 with three wins from as many matches.
Asked to bowl first, England's spinners bowled effectively to restrict New Zealand to 159 for seven.
In reply, England struggled at 117 for six after 17 overs, needing 43 runs from the final 18 balls. However, Jacks (32 not out off 18 balls) and Rehan Ahmed (19 not out off 7 balls) smashed 22 runs in the 18th over, reducing the target to 21 from 12 balls.
The duo then took 16 off Mitchell Santner, putting England in a commanding position going into the final over. In the end, England successfully chased the target with three balls to spare.
This followed impressive bowling from Jacks (2/23), Adil Rashid (2/28), and Rehan Ahmed (2/28) in the middle overs, after their pacers had been targeted.
Glenn Phillips (39 off 28 balls), Tim Seifert (35 off 25 balls), and Finn Allen (29 off 19 balls) were the main contributors with the bat for New Zealand.
England's chase began poorly, with both Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson taking early wickets, leaving them at 2/2 in the first over.
Captain Harry Brook (26 off 24 balls) tried to stabilize the innings, but was dismissed by Glenn Phillips, who misjudged a slog-sweep.
Phillips also took a stunning catch at deep mid-wicket to dismiss Jacob Bethell (21 off 16 balls), ending England's innings.
At 58 for four in the ninth over, England were in a difficult situation, but Tom Banton and Sam Curran managed to keep them in the game, despite New Zealand deploying their spinners effectively.
However, after the duo had added 42 runs for the fifth wicket, New Zealand finally broke through, with Rachin Ravindra dismissing Curran and then Banton, putting New Zealand ahead.
But Jacks and Ahmed had other plans.
Earlier, Jofra Archer, who had been in excellent form against Pakistan the previous night, started with a maiden over, including a New Zealand review after the on-field umpire adjudged Tim Seifert out caught behind following a loud appeal and a noise that likely came from the ball hitting the thigh pad.
TV replays, however, clearly showed that there was no edge, and the decision was overturned.
Liam Dawson also kept Seifert and Finn Allen quiet in the first four balls of the second over, until the former swept the left-arm spinner for a boundary through deep square-leg.
At the other end, Archer seemed to be in control, as he managed to swing, seam, and bounce the ball effectively, but when he tried a slower ball, Finn smashed it over mid-on for the game's first six.
Finn was starting to look dangerous, and against Dawson, he went down the ground and timed his shot perfectly to get another six.
Taking a cue from his partner's batting, Seifert also joined in, and launched into Archer with a couple of fours, and then pulled the England pace spearhead over mid-wicket for a six.
New Zealand now have the momentum, forcing England captain Harry Brook to bring in Sam Curran into the attack.
Finn welcomed Curran with a maximum over mid-wicket, ending the powerplay at 54 for no loss.
Adil Rashid also made a bowling change, and Seifert hammered the leg-spinner over long-on for another six.
However, Rashid dismissed Seifert off a googly in the next ball, putting pressure on the batter to play a big shot.
Finn was out in the next over, a soft dismissal off Will Jacks, as the opener gave a simple catch to Jacob Bethell at deep mid-wicket.
Phillips then tried to stabilize the New Zealand innings, but was dismissed by Jacks, halting their momentum.
