Mitchell Santner: ‘It Would Have Been Easier If We Had Won’

England played very well and won the match against New Zealand by 4 wickets in the T20 World Cup 2026 on Friday. In this Super 8 match, England seemed as if they would lose, and New Zealand would move to the semi-finals. But Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed turned the match around with their unbroken 44-run partnership in 16 balls. England captain Harry Brook was very happy with his two batsmen, while New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner looked disappointed. He said, "It would have been easier if we had won."

Santner said after the match that it was a tough and good contest. The way England chased, and then the way Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed added the finishing touches, was excellent batting. Regarding the semi-final berth, he said, "It would have been easier if we had won. But we played a very good game. There were moments with both bat and ball that you can look back on and perhaps change the outcome of the game. But credit goes to England and their style of play."

Asked about what moments he particularly wants to focus on, Mitchell said, "We created a good platform to target in the last few overs and then lost some ground there. We only managed to reach 160, when we could easily have reached 170."

Regarding Rehan's batting, Mitchell said, "He has shown his class with the bat over the past few years and is a very good player of spin. He wasn't really troubled on that wicket." I think his partnership with Jackie was fantastic. Regarding the Pakistan vs. Sri Lanka match, he said, "We'll probably see the match tomorrow."

England captain Harry Brook was elated with the victory in their third consecutive Super 8 round. He said, "We've seen what Rehan can do in the nets. Rehan played very well and, along with Will Jackie, snatched victory from New Zealand." Will Jackie won the Player of the Match award for the fourth time, the most. Jackie is very happy with his performance.