Colombo’s historic R. The Premadasa Stadium (RPS) witnessed a high-octane cricket spectacle on Friday. England And new zealand are facing each other in the 49th match of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. This Super Eight, Group 2 clash was more than just a game; It was a battle for survival where individual talent met collective grit. While the scoreboard shows England’s victory, the main reel of the night belongs to one man: glen phillips.
Glenn Phillips’ aerial stunner inspires Jacob Bethel to join Super 8 thriller
In a tournament defined by athletic excellence, Phillips created a moment that will be etched in T20 World Cup folklore. During the 9th over of England’s chase, New Zealand were desperate to break a rising partnership. Rachin Ravindra bowled a delivery on set jacob bethel (16 of 21). Bethel hit a violent pull shot which looked destined for the midwicket boundary.
What happened next was pure gravity-defying theatre. Positioned at deep midwicket, Phillips tracked the trajectory of the ball with predatory focus. Running at full speed from the ropes, he gave himself a horizontal dive, snatching the ball inches off the turf. It wasn’t just a catch; It was very difficult to detect a ball coming straight towards him while moving at high speed.
England were shocked by Bethel’s dismissal at 58/4 and a Phillips special momentarily shifted the momentum back to the Black Caps. The sheer audacity of the take – more difficult than diving sideways because of the risk of getting hit in the face – highlights why Phillips is considered one of the world’s premier outfielders.
Here is the video:
Will Jack’s heroics deny New Zealand a place in the semi-finals
Despite a fielding masterclass from New Zealand, England managed to seal a thrilling win by 4 wickets with only 3 balls remaining. England’s innings was full of ups and downs while chasing the target of 160 runs. After a bad start, the power of the giants was seen Phil Salt And jos buttler Departing with only 2 runs on the board, the middle order had to rebuild under immense pressure.
Rachin Ravindra Was the main destroyer for the Kiwis, returning exceptional figures of 3/19 from 4 overs. They calculated Bethel, tom banton (33), and Sam Curran (24), leaving England in a precarious position at 117/6. However, will jacks Proved to be a difference maker. Earning Player of the Match honours, Jacques remained unbeaten on 32 runs from 18 balls at an average of 177.77. His calm nature in the last overs was supported by his stormy innings of 19 runs in 7 balls. Rehan AhmedEngland reached 161/6 in 19.3 overs.
Earlier in the day, New Zealand’s innings was 159/7 on the back of a solid start Tim Seifert (35) and Phillips (39), but he lacked the finishing kick. England spin pair adil rashid And Jacques disrupted the run flow, both taking two wickets each. Jack’s all-round impact – 2/23 with the ball and 32 with the bat – ultimately broke New Zealand’s hearts, officially ending their hopes of making the semi-finals in this edition of the World Cup.