A big upset was seen in the ICC Women’s T20 Cup 2026. Defending champion New Zealand’s campaign ended in the group stage. Host England continued its brilliant performance and registered its fifth consecutive win by defeating New Zealand by 9 wickets. With this win, England reached the semi-finals by finishing on top in Group B without losing a single match, while West Indies also managed to reach the semi-finals despite tasting defeat against Ireland. This match also proved to be the last match of the international career of three great New Zealand players Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and Lia Tahuhu.
English bowlers did wonders
In the match played at The Oval, London, New Zealand, batting first, scored 163 runs for 6 wickets in 20 overs. The team had a steady start and by the powerplay they had added 44 runs without losing any wicket. Captain Amelia Kerr played an important inning of 42 runs, while Sophie Devine increased the team’s run rate by scoring 30 runs in just 14 balls. However, England turned the match when they took three wickets in four balls without conceding any runs. Danielle Gibson gave two important blows in a row to put New Zealand in trouble at the score of 70/3. After this, Brook Halliday tried to handle the team by adding 20 runs and Divine added 54 runs in 25 balls, but as soon as both were out, the innings faltered again. In the end, Maddy Green remained unbeaten on 17 runs, while Suzie Bates contributed 19 runs and New Zealand could reach 163 runs.
Danielle Gibson was the most successful bowler for England. He took two wickets, while Lauren Bell got one wicket. Chasing the target of 164 runs, the England team adopted an aggressive style from the very beginning. Although Amy Jones was out after scoring 17 runs, Danny Wyatt-Hodge and Sophia Dunkley ended all hopes of New Zealand’s comeback.
Danny Wyatt did wonders with the bat
Danny Wyatt-Hodge scored his third fifty in the tournament and played an excellent inning of 89 not out off 53 balls. His innings included 15 fours and one six. On the other hand, Sophia Dunkley also batted brilliantly and scored unbeaten 49 runs in 38 balls. Both the batsmen made a partnership of more than 100 runs for the second wicket and England reached the target in just 17.2 overs.
With this victory, England won all five matches of the group stage and made it to the semi-finals. At the same time, New Zealand’s defeat decided its departure from the tournament. Earlier, the West Indies team had to face defeat from Ireland in its last group stage match. However, the defeat of the Kiwi team gave them a big advantage and they got a ticket for the semi-finals.
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