🏏 ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026: NZ vs Eng 49th Match,27 Feb 🏏

🏏ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026: S8 - M49: New Zealand vs England at RPS Colombo on 27/02/2026 at 7PM IST🏏

“It's not doom, we're not dead if we don't win, but we certainly don't want to be in a position where we leave it up to external factors and out of our own hands."

Head coach Rob Walter knows the stakes. New Zealand need a win to become the second team from Super Eights Group 2 to qualify for the semifinal. They will arrive into this match with the recent evidence of beating Sri Lanka convincingly at this venue, when Mitchell Santner and Cole McConchie joined hands at 84/6 and took the match beyond the hosts.

"I mean obviously pretty chipper," Walter said about the mood in the camp. "We always talk about momentum, but there [that partnership] was probably a significant momentum shift in the game. And then I thought the guys bowled exceptionally well and fielded exceptionally well."

But he knows there's more to be done just yet. "it's hard not to be feeling pretty good after a win like that, but it's just one win in the journey and there's a couple more required," he was quick to add. "I think, sort of history tells you that through the Super 8s, you can't always win. I mean, obviously, there are some teams who have already found their way through to the semi-finals, England being one of them. But for us, we've sort of tried to place an emphasis on every game. But it's really taking care of the ball-by-ball process really, and hopefully that takes care of the result."

Mitchell Santner, speaking after the win over Sri Lanka, said he's ready for another potential "slugfest" at the venue against England, who have already qualified but the adjustment they need will be sharper. This is not Wankhede. Not Eden Gardens. Not even Pallekele. The ball does not bounce as much and the boundaries are expansive. There is no altitude to carry a mishit into the stands. Premadasa asks different questions and it will be telling how fully England choose to engage with the slowest and most spin-friendly venue of this T20 World Cup.

Tim Southee, part of England's support staff, says the team is all up for the challenge. "I think we've got a very well balanced side," he said. "You obviously come here and it seems to be a bit heavier on the spin side. I think you look at the bowlers and the batters that offer you a spin option as well when you come to grounds like this.

"We've seen spin's played such a big part here, it's a big ground and offered plenty for the spinners. So it doesn't mean seamers can't have an impact. Matt Henry last night starting things off, so I think touching back on the balance of the side, being able to have guys that can offer spin options as well as having obviously pace bowlers and plenty of spin options, both sides I think have multiple options on a surface like that."

Beyond the ropes, Pakistan will be watching closely. Their equation is simple enough: a New Zealand defeat, preferably heavy, keeps the door ajar for them.

When: Match 49, Friday, 27 February, 2026, at 7:00 PM local

Where: R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

What to expect: It's the same pitch that was used for the SL-NZ match, so expect spin, seams and uneven boundary dimensions once again in play. It's set to be another hot and dry day for cricket in Colombo.

Team news

New Zealand

After that win over Sri Lanka, they are likely to stick with the same XI. If they are looking to rest Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy might slot in.

Probable XI: Tim Seifert(w), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner(c), Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson/Jacob Duffy

England

Rehan Ahmed might come in as a spin-bowling allrounder.

Probable XI: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler(w), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook(c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton/Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid

Did you know?

New Zealand pacers have averaged less than three wickets per match in T20Is in 2026 and they are conceding at 10.45/over, the highest ever for them in a calendar year.

England openers have the worst aggregate of all teams that qualified for the Super 8s with a solitary 50+ score in 12 innings between them.

Stats and trivia

• England lead the head-to-head record with New Zealand in T20Is, with 16 wins, 10 defeats and a tie (which was won by England on a Super Over).
• At T20 World Cups, England have won four out of seven, including the teams' last encounter, at Brisbane in 2022.
• Ish Sodhi needs three wickets to overtake Tim Southee as New Zealand's most-prolific bowler in T20Is.
• Brook's hundred against Pakistan made him the third Englishman, behind Buttler and Dawid Malan, to have made centuries in all three formats (Heather Knight and Tammy Beaumont have also done it for England's women).

Pitch and conditions: Used pitch, spin key?

The same surface will be in use as for New Zealand's 61-run win over Sri Lanka - a deck that came in for implicit criticism from Dasun Shanaka for the amount it turned. It also featured one short square boundary - 62 metres compared to 75 metres - that New Zealand exploited to good effect. In six games at the Premadasa in this World Cup, only one has been won by the side chasing (Zimbabwe against Sri Lanka). A settled weather forecast should at least remove the need for any DLS calculations to be made.

In the spotlight: Harry Brook and New Zealand's middle order

While Buttler's lack of form remains the main talking point, Harry Brook did everything he could to make sure the headlines were about him against Pakistan. At the prompting of Brendon McCullum, Brook elevated himself to No. 3 in the order - having dropped down to No. 5 before the World Cup - and the immediate results were spectacular. Having only done the job a handful of times before for Yorkshire and Northern Superchargers, and never at international level, he made full use of the opportunity for a fast start during the powerplay and was consequently more settled when it came to navigating middle-overs spin (his T20 weak spot). A maiden T20I hundred, from just 50 balls, suggests he should be locked in at first drop for the foreseeable.

Kiwis are all about the collective, with handy performance so far sprinkled around, but one area that might be cause for a smidge of concern is the New Zealand middle order. Partly that is down to the top four being so effective - openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen are their leading run-scorers, closely followed by Glenn Phillips - and partly the abandoned game against Pakistan, which meant they went eight days without playing. Daryl Mitchell and Mark Chapman have both batted three times and missed the chance for middle time against Sri Lanka, before Mitchell Santner and McConchie produced the vital rescue act. New Zealand have discussed pushing Santner higher, but will likely stick with the incumbents in the expectation they will come good (or not be needed).

Daryl Mitchell and Mark Chapman failed to fire against Sri Lanka•Associated Press

Team news: Settled sides with plenty of options

England have played the same XI five games in a row and - unless they were to suddenly change their thinking on Buttler, and parachute Ben Duckett in to open - seem likely to stick with that formula. Rehan Ahmed, Josh Tongue and Luke Wood are in the wings, in the event that they wish to test their bench strength.

England: (probable) 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Harry Brook (capt), 4 Jacob Bethell, 5 Tom Banton, 6 Sam Curran, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Liam Dawson, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Adil Rashid.

After adapting on the fly to seal such a comprehensive win over the home side, New Zealand are also expected to keep the same balance, with the two quicks and five spin options at their disposal. Jimmy Neesham could return if conditions demand another seam option.

New Zealand: (probable) 1 Tim Seifert (wk), 2 Finn Allen, 3 Rachin Ravindra, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Mark Chapman, 7 Mitchell Santner (capt), 8 Cole McConchie, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Lockie Ferguson.

Quotes

"I've played with Jos and played a lot against Jos. He's one of the most dangerous white-ball batters to have played the game. I think when you're that good and you have a little blip then I guess you feel a little bit more pressure, but he's hitting it as well as he has in the nets. I'm sure he's only a couple of good strikes away."

England bowling coach Tim Southee on Buttler's form.

"I've tried to get him to bat higher, but we do obviously have a strong batting unit and also he's reluctant to replace anyone, feels pretty comfortable where he is, which is great."

New Zealand coach Rob Walter on Santner's spot in the order.

Thank you for the tag ☺️

Good luck to both the teams

But yeah I want NZ to win this one so that both Eng and NZ can qualify for the semi finale

Can resourceful New Zealand lock in semi-final spot against already-qualified England?

Victory in Colombo would secure last-four berth but narrow defeat might also be enough

Big picture: New Zealand eye semi-finals

While Sri Lankan cricket begins another cycle of seething introspection, there is still business to be concluded in Colombo and Pallekele. New Zealand helped turn the home crowd against their own on Wednesday night and will be looking to confirm their own passage to the semi-finals - for the fourth time in the last five T20 World Cups - when they return to Khetterama for take on England, who are already through.

Looking on anxiously will be Pakistan, who shared the points with New Zealand when their Super Eight encounter was washed out and must consequently cling to the possibility of England making it three wins from three and then making up the net run rate deficit in victory over Sri Lanka (with the results margin from both gamescumulatively needing to be around 70 runs, assuming the team batting first makes 180).

England's campaign so far has turned the phrase "winning ugly" into an art form; the two-wicket triumph over Pakistan that sealed their semi-final spot was so defiantly slapdash it might well end up being nominated for the Turner Prize. The quest for the "perfect game" continues. Certainly, there is no danger of them peaking too early.

If there is one unsettling blot on their copybook so far, it is the continuing travails of Jos Buttler. His haunted look after dismissal for a fourth single-innings score in a row against Pakistan told the story of a horror campaign, but there is no sense yet that England are ready to pull the rug on their greatest white-ball batter of all time.

New Zealand are more in need of the win - even if a close-fought loss might do - but, after a dip at the 2024 World Cup when they were edged out in the first group stage by Afghanistan, they look back to their best as a high-functioning tournament side that always makes the best of the resources available to them.

They came into this World Cup with several players battling injury and illness; Michael Bracewell, a key allrounder in subcontinental conditions, was then ruled out without playing a game. But they have won four out of five completed games with Bracewell's replacement, the unheralded Cole McConchie, one of stars of their come-from-behind win over Sri Lanka - a game in which their five spin-bowling options trumped the four that England are able to call on (assuming the cut to Jacob Bethell's bowling hand has healed).

No one should be surprised to see them get the job done again. A New Zealand win would put them top of the group, and also end the uncertainty around the semi-final venues, with Mumbai and Kolkata locked in. Pakistan will be hoping desperately it's not that straightforward.