T20 WC: Ireland vs Oman, England vs Scotland, New Zealand vs South Africa – Match previews

New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS) The eighth day of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 will see Ireland take on Oman in the morning game, before England face Scotland in the second match. The final match of the day, that is the evening game, will see New Zealand and South Africa face off.

Ireland vs Oman

Match 22 of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 will feature Ireland facing Oman in a Group B encounter at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo on Saturday.

Ireland have endured a difficult start to their campaign, suffering back-to-back defeats and are sitting fourth in the standings without a point. Their regular skipper, Paul Stirling, was also ruled out of the remainder of the tournament after sustaining an injury in the previous match, with the team naming Sam Topping as his replacement.

Despite early setbacks, the Irish side will rely on their experience and overall squad depth as they prepare to challenge Oman. Meanwhile, Oman, captained by Jatinder Singh, have experienced a comparable run, having lost both of their matches so far in the tournament.

Ireland squad: Ross Adair, Harry Tector (c), Lorcan Tucker (w), Curtis Campher, Benjamin Calitz, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys, Tim Tector, Joshua Little, Benjamin White, Craig Young, Sam Topping

Oman squad: Aamir Kaleem, Jatinder Singh (c), Hammad Mirza, Mohammad Nadeem, Wasim Ali, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Jiten Ramanandi, Nadeem Khan, Sufyan Mehmood, Shah Faisal, Jay Odedra, Shakeel Ahmed, Karan Sonavale, Ashish Odedara, Shafiq Jan

Head-to-head record between Ireland and Oman

Total matches played – 6

Ireland won: 4

Oman won: 2

Both teams’ performance in their last 5 matches

Ireland: L, W, W, L, L

Oman: L, W, W, L, L

England vs Scotland

England are set to take on Scotland in their third Group C match, with the contest scheduled for Saturday at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

England’s tournament so far has been far from convincing. After narrowly scraping past Nepal, they suffered a setback against the West Indies, leaving them fourth in Group C with a negative net run rate. With pressure mounting, this fixture becomes crucial to keep their campaign on track.

Scotland, meanwhile, have built steady momentum. A spirited performance against the West Indies, followed by a commanding victory over Italy, has lifted them to second place in the group with a strong +0.95 NRR. Carrying confidence and belief, Scotland will view this clash as a key opportunity to tighten their grip on a qualification spot.

England squad: Harry Brook (c), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, Luke Wood

Scotland squad: Paul Stirling (c), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Ben Calitz, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Matthew Humphreys, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Harry Tector, Tim Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young

Head-to-head record between England and Scotland

Total matches played: 1

England won: 0

Scotland won: 0

No Result: 1

Both teams’ performance in their last 5 matches

England: W, W, W, W, L

Scotland: W, L, L, L, W

New Zealand vs South Africa

New Zealand and South Africa lock horns in a high-profile Group D showdown at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday, in what promises to be one of the headline clashes of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 group stage. With firepower across their batting orders and well-rounded bowling units, both teams appear evenly matched on paper.

New Zealand sit atop the Group D standings after securing two wins from two matches, most recently cruising to a dominant 10-wicket victory over the UAE. Their commanding form has underlined their title credentials early in the tournament.

South Africa, just behind them in second place with two wins as well, arrive brimming with confidence after edging Afghanistan in a dramatic double Super Over thriller. With momentum on both sides, this contest could play a key role in shaping the group’s final standings.

New Zealand squad: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), James Neesham, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy, Ish Sodhi, Kyle Jamieson, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway

South Africa squad: Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Jason Smith, George Linde, Anrich Nortje, Kwena Maphaka

Head-to-head record between New Zealand and South Africa

Total matches played: 18

New Zealand won: 7

South Africa won: 11

No result: 1

Performance of both teams in their last 5 matches

New Zealand: L, W, L, W, W

South Africa: W, W, L, W, W

–IANS

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