Jacks, Rehan guide England to a tense win over New Zealand

By Alam Zeb Safi
COLOMBO: Will Jacks struck an unbeaten 32 and claimed two key wickets as England edged New Zealand by four wickets in a tense Super Eights clash of the ICC T20 World Cup at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Thursday.
This is the third successive win from England in the Super Eights and they finished their group at the summit.
Chasing 160 under lights, England recovered from a stuttering start to reach 161-6 with three balls to spare.
Jacks, who earlier returned figures of 2-23 with his off-spin, combined with the aggressive Rehan Ahmed in a decisive unbroken stand of 44 to carry England over the line after New Zealand threatened to choke the chase in the middle overs.
“It was about staying calm and taking it deep,” Jacks said after being named Player of the Match. “We knew if we had wickets in hand, the shorter boundary was an option at the end.”
New Zealand, who elected to bat, made a brisk start through Tim Seifert and Finn Allen, racing to 54 without loss in the powerplay. Seifert struck 35 off 25 balls while Allen hammered 29 from 19, peppering the leg side with three sixes.
England’s spinners dragged the momentum back. Jacks broke the opening stand by dismissing Allen while leg-spinner Adil Rashid removed Seifert and later had Mark Chapman stumped as New Zealand slipped from 64-0 to 123-4.
Glenn Phillips counterattacked with a punchy 39 off 28 balls but wickets at regular intervals stalled the innings. Rehan claimed two late scalps and Liam Dawson chipped in with one as New Zealand closed on 159-7, competitive but shy of the 170 they appeared set for at the halfway mark.
England’s reply faltered immediately. Phil Salt fell for two and captain Jos Buttler was dismissed for a duck inside the first two overs, silencing a vocal pro-England crowd.
Harry Brook steadied the innings with 26, sharing a 48-run stand with Jacob Bethell (21) but New Zealand’s spinners tightened their grip. Phillips removed Brook and left-arm spinner Rachin Ravindra turned the game with three wickets for 19 runs dismissing Bethell, Tom Banton and Sam Curran.
At 100-5 in the 15th over and with 60 still required, England were wobbling. Banton’s 33 had kept them afloat but his departure left the lower middle order exposed.
Jacks responded with composure, striking four boundaries and a six in his 18-ball cameo. Rehan provided the late surge, smashing 19 off seven deliveries including two towering sixes that tilted the contest decisively.
England brought up the target in 19.3 overs when Jacks drove through the covers, sparking celebrations in their dugout.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said his side had been “10 to 15 runs short”.
“We started well but probably lost momentum through the middle,” Santner said. “Rachin bowled beautifully to give us a chance, but credit to Jacks and Rehan for finishing it.”
The loss left New Zealand still in contention for semis spot with three points. Their real battle will be against Pakistan who will face Sri Lanka on Saturday in a do-or-die battle.

Summarised Scores

New Zealand 159-7 (20 overs)
Glenn Phillips 39 (28); Tim Seifert 35 (25)
Will Jacks 2-23, Adil Rashid 2-28, Rehan Ahmed 2-28

England 161-6 (19.3 overs)
Will Jacks 32* (18), Tom Banton 33 (24), Rehan Ahmed 19* (7)
Rachin Ravindra 3-19

Result: England won by 4 wickets (with 3 balls remaining)
Player of the Match: Will Jacks (England)