England edge New Zealand, keep Pakistan’s semifinal hopes alive
Will Jacks scored an unbeaten 32 and bagged 2/23 to help England defeat New Zealand by four wickets in a Super Eights match of the T20 World Cup in Colombo.
Will Jacks scored an unbeaten 32 and bagged 2/23 to help England defeat New Zealand by four wickets in a Super Eights match of the T20 World Cup in Colombo.
Will Jacks scored an unbeaten 32 and bagged 2/23 to help England defeat New Zealand by four wickets in a Super Eights match of the T20 World Cup in Colombo.
England kept their perfect record in the Super Eights stage of the T20 World Cup by defeating New Zealand by four wickets in Colombo on Friday.
England had already qualified for the semifinals but needed a third win to maintain the momentum. The turning point was the 18th over bowled by Glenn Phillips with England needing 43 to win, in a chase of 160.
Will Jacks justified his inclusion as the ultimate all-rounder in the squad by smashing 14 runs after Rehan Ahmed hit a six over long-on to begin the assault. The 22-run over tilted the advantage in England's favour, and they held on to it, winning with three balls to spare.
The match's outcome has given Pakistan hope, who would have been eliminated had the Kiwis won. If Pakistan beat Sri Lanka on Saturday, they would draw level on points (three) with New Zealand, and the one with the better net run rate would advance.
Jacks claimed the man-of-the-match award for his unbeaten 32 off 18 after 2/23 earlier. Adil Rashid (2/28) and Rehan Ahmed (2/28) were also excellent with the ball in the middle overs.
Glenn Phillips (39 off 28 balls), Tim Seifert (35 off 25 balls) and Finn Allen (29 off 19 balls) helped New Zealand post a fighting 159/7 on a slow surface in Colombo.
Brief scores: New Zealand 159/7 in 20 overs (Glenn Phillips 39, Tim Seifert 35, Finn Allen 29, Will Jacks 2/23, Rehan Ahmed 2/28, Adil Rashid 2/28) lost to England 161/6 in 19.3 overs (Tom Banton 33, Jacks 32 not out, Harry Brook 26, Rachin Ravindra 3/19)