England get home in a thriller against NZ to keep Pakistan’s semi-final hopes alive

England came from behind to hand New Zealand a four-wicket defeat with three balls to spare. In doing so, they not only topped the group but also handed Pakistan a crucial lifeline.

Santner’s blunder at death

At the end of 17 overs, England were six down, and still 43 runs away from victory, with Rehan Ahmed and Will Jacks batting. However, the game turned on its head at that point. Mitchell Santner handed the ball to Glenn Phillips for the 18th over, and he conceded 22 runs. That was enough to shift the momentum back to England.

The difference was reduced to just five runs in the last over after Santner himself conceded 16 runs in the penultimate over.

A couple of runs and a boundary were then enough to take England through, pushing the battle for second place to the final group game between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

What do Pakistan need to do now?

The task is still very tough for Pakistan as they need not only to get two more points but also cap New Zealand’s Net Run Rate (NRR). A washout will be enough to crash them out of the tournament, because New Zealand, with three points, will go ahead to the semis instead of Pakistan, who would have just two points in that case.

However, if the game brings any result, Pakistan would need to defeat Sri Lanka by around 65 runs or chase the target in 13-14 overs, depending on the exact match scenario. 

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