ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Pakistan to face New Zealand in Super 8 opener match today

Match will start at 6: 30pm [Pakistan Standard Time] at the R. Premadasa Stadium, marking a crucial contest for both sides as they begin the second round of the tournament

COLOMBO: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Feb 21^st, 2026) Pakistan will take on New Zealand in the opening fixture of the Super Eight stage of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 today in Colombo.

The match will start at 6: 30pm [Pakistan Standard Time] at the R. Premadasa Stadium, marking a crucial contest for both sides as they begin the second round of the tournament.

Pakistan and New Zealand progressed to the Super Eight after defeating comparatively weaker opponents in the group stage. However, both teams suffered setbacks against stronger rivals in their respective groups, making today’s clash pivotal for their semi-final aspirations.

Since October 2022, the two sides have met 41 times across formats, reflecting an intense and frequent rivalry in recent years.

New Zealand are likely to face the challenge of adjusting to new conditions, having played their previous four matches in Chennai and Ahmedabad. Pakistan, meanwhile, have greater familiarity with Colombo pitches, having played one match at R.

Premadasa Stadium against India and three others at the Sinhalese sports Club ground.

The contest is expected to highlight Pakistan’s spin bowling strength against New Zealand’s consistent batting unit. The Kiwi side has lost only 14 wickets in four matches so far, demonstrating stability at the top of the order.

The match is scheduled to begin at 6:30pm Pakistan Standard Time.

Pakistan: 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Salman Ali Agha (capt) 4 Babar Azam, 5 Khawaja Nafay, 6 Shadab Khan, 7 Usman Khan (wk) 8 Mohammad Nawaz/Faheem Ashraf, 9 Salman Mirza, 10 Usman Tariq, 11 Abrar Ahmed

New Zealand: 1 Tim Seifert (wk), 2 Finn Allen, 3 Rachin Ravindra, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Mark Chapman, 6 Daryl Mitchell, 7 Mitchell Santner (capt), 8 Jimmy Neesham, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Ish Sodhi 11 Jacob Duffy