England Keeps Pakistan's World Cup Dream Alive With Win

England just gave their cricket rivals an unexpected gift at the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka.

The defending champions beat New Zealand by four wickets on Friday, which keeps Pakistan's tournament hopes alive heading into their final match. Pakistan must now defeat co-host Sri Lanka on Saturday by a significant margin to advance to the semifinals.

The match looked dire for England early on. Their first two batters were out after just eight balls, leaving them at 2-2. When two more players fell quickly, England found themselves struggling at 58-4 in the ninth over.

That's when Will Jacks stepped up. He partnered with teammate Rehan Ahmed to score an unbeaten 44 runs together, leading England to victory as they chased down New Zealand's 159-7 total.

"I'm buzzing, to be not out at the end when it was on a knife-edge," Jacks said after receiving his fourth Player of the Match award. "Going into the semifinals, we feel in a strong position with three wins against three very good teams."

New Zealand's loss means they now sit nervously waiting to see if Pakistan can pull off the near-impossible. Pakistan needs to either win by roughly 65 runs or chase down their target in fewer than 13 overs to leapfrog New Zealand on net run rate.

The Ripple Effect

This result shows how tournament cricket creates unexpected allies. England and Pakistan are fierce competitors, but England's performance just handed Pakistan a chance they wouldn't have had otherwise. It's a reminder that in sports, your fate often depends on others doing their job well.

England captain Harry Brook praised the decision to bring in spinner Rehan Ahmed, who helped turn the match around. "We have seen what Rehan can do in the nets, and he has gone out there and taken the game away from them," Brook said.

The defending champions will now face either India or the West Indies in the semifinals, while Pakistan prepares for their do-or-die match against Sri Lanka with renewed hope.

Sometimes the biggest wins create opportunities for others to shine too.