Rehan Ahmed starred with bat and ball on his T20 World Cup debut as England guaranteed top spot in their pool with a four-wicket win over New Zealand that leaves their opponents sweating on a semi-final place.
Leg-spinning all-rounder Ahmed bagged 2-28 as England earlier restricted the Black Caps to 159-7 and then smoked 19 not out off seven balls in an unbroken seventh-wicket stand of 44 from 16 balls with Will Jacks (32no off 18) as Harry Brook’s team got home with three balls to spare in a Colombo thriller.
The batting side were 117-6 with three overs remaining but then became favourites as Ahmed and Jacks, who continues to make telling contributions, took a Glenn Phillips over for 22.
England, already through to the knockout stages after victories over Sri Lanka and Pakistan, saw Jos Buttler’s woes continue as he bagged a two-ball duck – his fifth single-figure score in a row.
Skipper Brook followed his 50-ball hundred against Pakistan last time out with a knock of 26 off 24 balls, including a stunning, nonchalant flick for six over the leg side off Matt Henry that broke the LED screen, before he holed out off Phillips, who then took a brilliant diving catch to remove Jacob Bethell (21).
Earlier, Ahmed took a wicket with his first ball and fellow tweakers Jacks (2-23) and Adil Rashid (2-28) also struck twice.
England’s third win from as many matches in round two means they will play in the second semi-final in Mumbai next Thursday, most likely against India or West Indies.
New Zealand will play in the first semi on Tuesday – unless Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by a big enough margin in Pallekele on Saturday to overhaul the Black Caps on net run-rate.
The chances are we will hear the Kiwis’ national anthem in Kolkata next week, one that was played at warp-speed ahead of their game with England, to much amusement.
More to follow…
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