The Super 8 stage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 was supposed to kick off today, February 21, with Pakistan facing New Zealand at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Both captains came out for the toss as planned, even though rain was already coming down. Salman Ali Agha, leading Pakistan, won the toss and chose to bat first.
On the day of the match, the weather just didn’t cooperate. Right after the toss, the rain picked up the pace. As all waited, hoping it would clear up, but it never did. Eventually, after talking it over with both captains, the umpires called it off. Not a single ball got bowled.
Since all had to abandon the match because of the rain, Pakistan and New Zealand each walked away with one point. And just it is declared, reserve days are only set for the semi-finals and the final, not for group matches like this. So there was no chance to try again another day.
New Zealand Playing XI: Tim Seifert (wicketkeeper), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (captain), James Neesham, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, and Lockie Ferguson
Pakistan Playing XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Salman Mirza, and Usman Tariq.
