Spinners in focus as Pakistan face NZ in Super Eight opener

Spinners will be in the limelight as Pakistan face New Zealand in the first match of the Super 8s stage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 to be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Saturday.

Historically, the Premadasa surface has helped spinners, with grip and turn coming into play as the match progresses. Spinners from both sides are expected to play a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the match.

The 2009 T20 World Cup champions, Pakistan, are coming to the competition after a good run in the Group Stage, where they won three matches out of four and lost only against the defending champions, India.

The team possesses some quality spinners like Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmed, Saim Ayub, and skipper Salman Agha, who can challenge the New Zealand batters’ defence.

On the other side, New Zealand also had a similar outing in the group stage of the tournament. Mitchell Santner’s side won three matches out of four and lost only one -- against the 2024 T20 World Cup runner-up South Africa.

Captain Santner missed the last match due to illness, but he is fit and likely to return to the side for the Super 8s stage. The Black Caps will also face an adaptability challenge as they are moving from India to Sri Lanka for the next round. However, they have to play all the matches in Colombo, which will be beneficial for the team.

Despite losing Bracewell to injury, the Black Caps have good spin options in their arsenal. With Captain Santner leading from the front, along with Ish Sodhi, Glenn Phillips, and Rachin Ravindra.

New Zealand can adapt quickly to switching to Sri Lankan pitches after playing all their matches so far in India, said batsman Mark Chapman on Friday.

Pace, bounce and spin in Colombo will be markedly different to Chennai and Ahmedabad, where New Zealand played their group matches, but Chapman said the players knew all about the variation in pitch conditions.

“I think guys understand what they need to do on slower wickets after playing in India where pitches were batting friendly,” said the middle-order batsman.

“So, we’re pretty confident that we’ll face up to whatever conditions are in front of us. A lot of the guys have played a lot of cricket here before.”

Pakistan have played all their four matches in Sri Lanka and have a potent spin attack.

Chapman was confident New Zealand can handle Pakistan’s spinners, including the unorthodox Usman Tariq, who pauses in his delivery stride and bowls with deceptive variation, including side-arm.

“Obviously, Tariq has a pretty unique action with the way that he stops at the crease and that’s something to factor in,” said Chapman.

“But each of the Pakistan spinners poses their own threat.”

Pakistan have beaten New Zealand in five of their seven previous T20 World Cup encounters.

Pakistan’s top order undeniably possesses the kind of raw explosiveness that can dismantle an opposition in a matter of overs. On their day, they have the stroke-makers and power-hitters capable of seizing control of a game in the powerplay itself, setting imposing totals or chasing daunting targets with authority. Yet, despite this immense potential, consistency has remained elusive. The promise that surrounds Saim Ayub, for instance, has not yet been fully realized in sustained performances. While his talent is evident, translating flair into dependable match-winning contributions has been a work in progress.

At the other end, Sahibzada Farhan has increasingly assumed the responsibility of aggressive powerplay scoring. With Agha’s run flow drying up in the matches leading into the contest against Namibia, Farhan has stepped up to inject momentum at the top.

His willingness to take on the new ball and attack from the outset has offered Pakistan some early impetus, but the burden cannot rest on one player alone.

Batting great Babar Azam was dropped for Pakistan’s final T20 World Cup group game against Namibia for scoring too slowly, said head coach Mike Hesson on Friday.

Azam, who is the highest run-scorer in T20 international history with 4,571 runs, was left out for the must-win game against Namibia as Pakistan racked up 199-3 and secured a place in the Super Eights by 102 runs.

The 2009 champions face New Zealand in Colombo on Saturday in the opening match of the second phase.

Agencies