New Zealand vs Pakistan LIVE: ICC T20 World Cup 2026

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No news from Colombo at present - bar the fact it still appears to be raining.

A message on the stadium's big screen asks: "Rain, rain, go away."

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New Zealand captain Mitch Santner speaking at the toss: "We came here from Chennai. It could be a little bit different here. But we know what the conditions will be. We know what challenge Pakistan will bring. It should be entertaining. They've got some very good spinners. We know that."

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Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha speaking at the toss: "We have one pacer and a good all-rounder in Faheem Ashraf. So we have two pacers and a lot of good spin options. We know New Zealand are a good team. We need to bring our A game. That's what we will be looking to do today."

Start delayed

So, as expected, the start of the match has been delayed.

With any luck this will pass and we'll get some cricket again.

Of course the women's ODI World Cup a few months ago was blighted by rain in Colombo, but that was a time of year not best suited to cricket in Sri Lanka...

Pakistan win the toss and bat

...well, having said that, things might depend on the weather.

We've had a toss at the R Premadasa Stadium, and it was on time after earlier rain had disappeared.

However, since then we've had another shower and the big plastic sheets they use as covers in Sri Lanka have been pulled back over the ground.

Anyway, Salman Ali won that toss and Pakistan will have a bat when we do get out there - and the forecast suggests we should get a game in.

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It's Super Eight time!

We're in Colombo for the first match of the second stage of this T20 World Cup - Pakistan and New Zealand both came through their respective groups in second place, with three wins and a loss to their pool winner.

Can they get the next leg of their World Cup campaign off to a flier?

Let's find out...

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