Arya News - New Zealand and Pakistan play the first game of the Super Eights stage at the T20 World Cup with both eyeing title tilt.
Who: New Zealand vs Pakistan
What: 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Super Eights
When: Saturday, February 21, at 7pm (13:30 GMT)
Where: R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka
How to follow: We’ll have all the buildup on Al Jazeera Sport from 10:30 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream.
The Super Eights stage of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup starts on Saturday with a match between two sides considered dark horses for the title, New Zealand and Pakistan.
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Both, however, have the capability of taking down the game’s top names in an instant.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at the match-up between two of the pretenders for the crown, who will hope to lay down a marker as the second phase of the tournament gets under way.
Pakistan look to shake ‘nearly men’ tag with T20 World Cup crown in sight
Shadab Khan said Pakistan believed they could go on and win the T20 World Cup after producing their best performance of the tournament to secure their last Super Eights berth on Wednesday.
Bowling out Namibia for 97 to win by a colossal 102 runs in Colombo meant Pakistan bounced back in style after a defeat to archrivals India had left them in danger of elimination.
“We didn’t take the [Namibia] game lightly after so much talk about one match against India,” said Shadab, who scored a brisk 22-ball 36 and grabbed 3-19 in the match against the Africans.
“We are on the right track to achieve the goal of winning the World Cup, and we are following a process,” he added.
Shadab warned that the Super Eights, however, will be a step up with England and co-hosts Sri Lanka awaiting Pakistan after the New Zealand test.
“There are eight good teams, so it will be a tough stage, and all matches will be high-pressure games,” said Shadab.
How did Pakistan reach the T20 World Cup Super Eights?
Pakistan rode on an undefeated maiden T20 international century by opener Sahibzada Farhan to post 199-3 in their win against Namibia.
Spinners Usman Tariq and Shadab Khan then shared seven wickets to rout Namibia in 17.3 overs.
It was a performance Pakistan desperately needed, as well as result, after an underwhelming win against the Netherlands to open their tournament. The victory against the USA that followed – avenging their 2024 edition reverse – was an improvement, but the hammering by India left a lot to be desired.
How did New Zealand reach the T20 World Cup Super Eights?
New Zealand capped their group stage with an eight-wicket win against Canada, but a scare was handed to the Kiwis by Canadian opener Yuvraj Samra scintillating 110 off 65 balls.
Glenn Phillips (76) and Rachin Ravindra (59) smashed unbeaten half-centuries as New Zealand chased down a target of 174 with 4.5 overs to spare for their third win in four matches.
It followed a heavy seven-wicket defeat by group winners South Africa, and victories against Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates.
Group leaders South Africa had already advanced to the Super Eights after a hat-trick of wins.
Why didn’t Mitchell Santner captain New Zealand against Canada?
New Zealand T20 captain and key spinner, Mitchell Santner, sat out the win against Canada due to illness.
Daryl Mitchell stepped in to lead the Kiwis in the match after regular, but Santner is expected to return for the match against Pakistan.
With spin set to come to the fore once again in Colombo, Santner’s availability could be crucial. Ish Sodhi could come into the side at the expense of a seam bowler to bolster the spin options.
Will Shaheen Shah Afridi return for Pakistan to face New Zealand?
Shaheen Shah Afridi’s omission from the final group stage match against Namibia was a huge shock. Although underperforming in the first three games, Shaheen did claim a wicket in each, but his economy rate was deemed expensive.
Salman Mirza stepped in for the game against Namibia, and even though Shaheen’s absence was considered as the left-arm seamer being dropped, his return is expected against New Zealand.
(Al Jazeera) What is New Zealand’s T20 World Cup record?
New Zealand are yet to claim a T20 World Cup title, coming closest in 2021 – at the delayed 2020 edition – when they were beaten by Australia in the final
What is Pakistan’s T20 World Cup record?
Pakistan are three-time finalists, but have only lifted the trophy once.
The first appearance in the final came in the inaugural competition in 2007, when India claimed a five-run win.
The second edition, in 2009, saw Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in the final, but a 13-year wait ensued for the next appearance in the showpiece finale – only for England to sweep to a five-wicket victory.
What happened the last time New Zealand played Pakistan in a T20?
The sides last met in a T20 in a five-game series in New Zealand last March.
New Zealand claimed the series 4-1, including winning the final match by eight wickets after restricting the tourists to 128-9 – of which Salman Agha scored 51 and Shadab Khan scored 28. Only one other Pakistani batter reached double figures, with opener Mohammad Haris making 11.
Head-to-head
This will be the 50th meeting between the countries in cricket’s shortest format. The victory margin for the teams is narrowly edged by Pakistan with 24 wins to New Zealand’s 23.
Predicted New Zealand team
Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (w), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), James Neesham, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy
Predicted Pakistan team
Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (c), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (w), Khawaja Nafay, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq
New Zealand T20 form guide
L-W-W-L-W (most recent result last)
Pakistan T20 form guide
W-W-W-L-W (most recent result last)