New Zealand won toss, elected to bat first in Colombo
Win for Kiwis would send them to semi-finals
Pakistan need England victory to stay in contention
New Zealand won the toss and decided to bat first against England in their Super Eights clash of ICC T20 World Cup 2026 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday (February 27).
The race for semi-finals is into its business end at the 20-over showpiece. While England are already through to the last-four stage with back-to-back wins, New Zealand (3 points) could join them from Group 2 with a victory tonight.
Pakistan are the third team in fray, as Sri Lanka have already been eliminated with consecutive defeats. The Men In Green (1 point) would also be knocked out if the Kiwis do beat Harry Brook's men. They would thus would be hoping for the Three Lions to prevail, and by a big margin at that for a net run rate boost, to keep their dwindling hopes alive.
ALSO READ: England Vs New Zealand Live Score
England Vs New Zealand, ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Playing XIs
England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid
New Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (c), Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson
England Vs New Zealand, ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Squads
England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (c), Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Ben Duckett, Luke Wood, Josh Tongue, Rehan Ahmed
New Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (c), Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, James Neesham, Jacob Duffy, Kyle Jamieson, Devon Conway
Who won the coin toss in England vs New Zealand, Super 8 match of ICC T20 World Cup 2026?
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to bat first against England in their Super Eights game of ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
How can New Zealand qualify for semi-finals?
A win for New Zealand in this match would send them to the T20 World Cup semi-finals, but they can go through even with a loss, depending on other factors.
How does this match affect Pakistan's semi-final chances?
If New Zealand win, Pakistan would be knocked out of the semi-finals race. Victory for England would keep the Men In Green alive, though they would need to beat Sri Lanka by a big margin in their last Super Eights clash.
