How can New Zealand qualify for the semifinals?

New Zealand will take on England at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday, February 27 in their third and final Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup 2026 in Group 2. England have already qualified for the semifinals by winning their first two matches in the Super 8 round. The Kiwis are currently in second place, with three points from two matches.

New Zealand‘s first Super 8 match against Pakistan in Colombo (RPS) was abandoned due to rain, without a ball being bowled. They stayed alive in the competition with a comprehensive 61-run win over co-hosts Sri Lanka in Colombo. Batting first, the Kiwis posted 168-7 and then held the Lankans to 107-8.

If New Zealand beat England at the Premadasa Stadium on Friday, they will confirm their slot in the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2026 and knock Pakistan out of the tournament. Not only that, a win for the Kiwis against the Englishmen will also see them top the Group 2 table. In such a scenario, New Zealand will finish with five points and England with four.

If the Kiwis beat England, both the semifinals will be played in India. New Zealand will take on the team that finished second in Group 1. In the event of New Zealand going down to England, they can still qualify for the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2026 if Sri Lanka beat Pakistan. The Kiwis can also qualify with three points if Pakistan beat Sri Lanka, but their net run rate is below that of New Zealand.

How can Pakistan qualify for the semifinals of T20 World Cup 2026?

While Pakistan’s chances of qualifying for the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2026 are slim, they are not totally out of contention yet. They will first need England to beat New Zealand, preferably by a big margin. Pakistan must then defeat Sri Lanka by a margin that is good enough to take their net run rate about that of the Kiwis.

As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, the sum of the result margins of these two games has to be around 70 runs. If England beat New Zealand by 40 runs, then Pakistan have to beat Sri Lanka by 30 runs (assuming the first-innings total is same in both games). If England chase 150 against New Zealand in 17 overs, then Pakistan (assuming the same target) will have to chase it in around 14.4 overs.