New Zealand had a task on Friday night in Colombo to win and qualify for the semifinals of the T20 World Cup. But England had other plans. England wanted to end the Super 8 group stage with an unbeaten record and managed a tense win in the last over. New Zealand now has an anxious wait ahead. Their fate is in the final Group 2 Super 8 match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Depending on the result of this encounter, New Zealand either qualifies for the semifinals in India or returns home. Pakistan is still in the fray despite the result of the England-New Zealand encounter. But Pakistan needs a comprehensive win over Sri Lanka and a high net run rate to move ahead of New Zealand and qualify for the semifinals. Also Read | Cricket Fans Furious After T20 World Cup Blunder Puts New Zealand in Spotlight On Saturday, Santner said: “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. We are just going to wait and see, and either get on a plane to India or back to New Zealand. We would have made things a lot easier if we had won tonight." New Zealand allowed a strong position to slip out of their hands not once but twice in the game against England. New Zealand was coasting along at 123/3 in 14 overs, but the momentum was totally lost when the team could manage only 36 runs in the last six overs at a rate of one run a ball. Later on in the game, New Zealand seemed to have England on the back foot at 117/6, needing 43 runs from the last 18 balls. England chased the target with three balls and four wickets remaining. Also Read | West Indies’ T20 World Cup 2026 Hopes Under Pressure After South Africa Setback Santner Reflects On Fine Margins As Brook Hails Rehan’s All-Round Brilliance Santner also said: “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 in execution or in the field. But credit to England for setting up that chase as they did. The way England’s batters attacked the last overs of our spinners, they made very good choices. The flip side for us at the death while batting was we tried to go a bit squarer, while they looked to go straighter. Those are the kinds of things you can look back on, especially in a tight game like that: whether it’s a matter of a few runs, stopping a two, or taking a catching opportunity," England skipper Harry Brook praised leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed for his overall contribution to the tense win. Ahmed started off with a good bowling performance, returning figures of 2 for 28, and then contributed a vital contribution with the bat, hitting an unbeaten 19 off just seven balls. Ahmed paired nicely with Will Jacks, who was unbeaten on 32 off 18 balls, as England stylishly completed the chase. Read Also | Major Blow for Sri Lanka as Star Batter Ruled Out of T20 World Cup 2026 Brook said: “We’ve seen what Reh (Ahmed) can do in the nets, and he’s gone out and played beautifully, taking it away from them. Along with Jacksy (Jacks), his fourth MOM, I’m pretty happy with that performance. We said at the start that we’d select based on conditions, and we thought today was the perfect opportunity to bring him in, and he did an amazing job." On the other hand, Jos Buttler is yet to get his form in the tournament. England skipper Jos Buttler once again had a poor day at the office on Friday, getting out for a duck. Brook, though, isn’t concerned. He said: “A lot has been said, but he (Buttler) has played 150 games for England, and people need to take a step back from that. He’s in a rut now, but that’s an exciting thing – to know what he could produce in the next couple of games. He’s a phenomenal player, and I’ve got no doubts about him."