Pakistan need a big win over Sri Lanka to overtake the Kiwis on net run rate and seal the semifinal berth.
Already qualified for semifinals, England defeated New Zealand by four wickets in Colombo on Friday (February 27) to top Super 8s Group 2 of T20 World Cup 2026.
Chasing 160, Will Jacks' quickfire 32* off 18 balls saw England overcome a top-order collapse, overhauling the target with three balls to spare.
The win for England meant Pakistan are still alive in tournament and need a big win against Sri Lanka in their last Super 8 clash on Saturday (February 28) to overtake the Kiwis on net run rate and seal the semifinal berth.
Pakistan need to win by more than 64 runs if they bat first. While chasing, the Salman Ali Agha-led side have to overhaul the target with at least 40 deliveries to spare.
The task might be daunting for the Men in Green, but New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner is not taking anything for granted, saying his team would be eagerly watching the Sri Lanka versus Pakistan match in Pallekele.
“Pretty nervous. There'll be some nerves watching tomorrow, just to see what happens. But it's out of our control, we can't really do much,” Santner said during the post-match press conference.
“We are just going to wait and see, and either get on a plane to India or New Zealand. We would have made things a lot easier if we won tonight,” he added.
The Black Caps were in the driver’s seat, with England requiring 43 runs in the last three overs. However, Jacks along with Rehan Ahmed managed to hit Glenn Phillips for 22 runs in the 18th over to turn things around. The penultimate over bowled by Santer went for 16 runs and the Harry Brook-led side eventually sealed the deal in the final over.
“We had it in our control. We did a lot of good stuff throughout this game, and even in the last couple of games, but it's always those little moments at the end, or throughout our innings, where it could have been a little bit sharper, whether it's execution or in the field. But credit to England for setting up that chase as they did,” said Santner.
“The way they attacked the last overs of our spinners was that they took very good options. The flip side with us at the death while batting was that we tried to go a bit squarer, where they looked to go straighter. Those are kind of things you can look back on, especially in a tight game like that: whether it's a matter of a few runs or whether it is stopping a two or a catching opportunity or something like that,” he remarked.