England beat NZ to keep Pak's semis hope alive
New Delhi, Feb. 28 -- England, unbeaten and already qualified for the semi-finals, stamped their authority in their T20 World Cup campaign by registering a 4-wicket win over New Zealand. As a result, Pakistan and New Zealand remain locked in a fight for the second semi-final spot in Group 2.
A thrilling finishing act involving an unbeaten 44-run partnership between Rehan Ahmed and Will Jacks ensured a memorable win.
Chasing 160, England were off to a horrible start in the chase as they were reduced to 2/2 with Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson bowling well. Last match's centurion Harry Brook unsettled the original lines and helped England recover slightly. However, it was brief as Glenn Phillips ended that in the eighth over with Brook departing for 26 off 24 balls.
Every once in a while, Phillips pulls off a stunner in the field. In the ninth over off Rachin Ravindra's bowling, he dove forward at deep mid-wicket and took a freakish catch with both hands, just inches off the ground to dismiss Jacob Bethell (21). Tom Banton and Sam Curran stitched a 42-run partnership to steady the ship.
England bowled 16 overs of spin to restrict New Zealand to 159/7 in their T20 World Cup Super Eights clash in Colombo on Friday. England and Co had already qualified for the semi-finals but the Kiwis needed a win to guarantee a semi-final slot.
Openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen initially struggled to tackle Jofra Archer who provided a magnificent start with a maiden over but both openers were on to him eventually as they raced to 54/0 in the powerplay. Nearly all batters got off to good starts but none of them stayed long enough to convert it to bigger innings.
The duo stitched a 64-run partnership at the top before Adil Rashid dismissed Seifert (35) with a slower delivery through the air.
In the next over, Jacks, who returned with best figures of 2/23, dismissed Allen for 29.
Phillips top-scored with 39 off 28 including four fours and a six. England ended up bowling just four overs of pace after that as spinners made inroads.
While Jacks was the standout bowler, Adil Rashid picked up 2/28 and is now England's leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 11 wickets.
He was well-supported by Ahmed (2/28). Liam Dawson (1/32) and Jacob Bethell (0/13) were the other spinners employed by England.
Brief scores: New Zealand 159/7 (G Phillips 39, T Seifert 35). England 161/6 (T Banton 33, W Jacks 32*; R Ravindra 3/19). England win by 4 wickets....
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