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Cricket PlayersMitchell Santner feeling the heat after T20 World Cup semis hopes rely on Pakistan: 'There'll be some nerves'
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner is feeling the heat as the Kiwis' hopes of making it to the T20 World Cup semis depend on Pakistan.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner is quite nervous ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8s match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Saturday. The Black Caps had the best chance possible to seal a place in the semi-finals; however, a defeat against England at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo has thrown a cat among the pigeons, and Pakistan have been handed a lifeline to stay alive and relevant in the tournament.
New Zealand's net run rate is still better than Pakistan's, and even if the latter manages to win against Sri Lanka, the two teams would be tied on 3 points apiece. For Salman Ali Agha's side to leapfrog the Kiwis in net run rate, Pakistan need to win by more than 64 runs if they bat first. While chasing, they need to overhaul the total with at least 40 balls to spare.
The task is daunting for Pakistan; however, Santner is not taking anything for granted, saying his team would be eagerly watching the match between the two Asian teams in Pallekele.
Also Read: What Pakistan must do against Sri Lanka to qualify for the T20 World Cup semi-finals after England does them a huge favour
“Pretty nervous. There'll be some nerves watching tomorrow, just to see what happens. But it's out of our control, we can't really do much,” Santner told reporters during the post-match press conference.
“We are just going to wait and see, and either get on a plane to India or New Zealand. We would have made things a lot easier if we won tonight,” he added.
Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed's blinder
For the majority of the Group 2 Super 8s contest in Colombo, New Zealand was well ahead in the contest. In the last three overs, England required 43 runs with Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed at the crease. However, the two batters managed to hit Glenn Phillips for 22 runs in the 18th over, and in the end, England overhauled the target of 160 with four wickets in hand and three balls to spare.
“We had it in our control. We did a lot of good stuff throughout this game, and even in the last couple of games, but it's always those little moments at the end, or throughout our innings, where it could have been a little bit sharper, whether it's execution or in the field. But credit to England for setting up that chase as they did,” said Santner.
“The way they attacked the last overs of our spinners was that they took very good options. The flip side with us at the death while batting was that we tried to go a bit squarer, where they looked to go straighter. Those are kind of things you can look back on, especially in a tight game like that: whether it's a matter of a few runs or whether it is stopping a two or a catching opportunity or something like that,” he added.
With the win over New Zealand, England topped Group 2 and will most likely face either India or the West Indies in the semi-final.
