New Zealand knock out co-hosts Sri Lanka from T20 World Cup
New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by 61 runs in a crucial Super Eights match of the T20 World Cup in Colombo.
New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by 61 runs in a crucial Super Eights match of the T20 World Cup in Colombo.
New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by 61 runs in a crucial Super Eights match of the T20 World Cup in Colombo.
Sri Lanka crashed out of the T20 World Cup after their second defeat in the Super Eights stage. The co-hosts lost by 61 runs to a resilient New Zealand in Colombo on Wednesday.
The win has given New Zealand a solid chance of qualifying for the semifinals as they have three points from two matches, and a win against England on Friday should do it. However, Pakistan are also in pursuit of the second slot from Group 2 as they face the Lankans at Pallekele on Saturday.
Today, the Lankans threw away a game they had in their hands for the most part. New Zealand were 84/6 after losing three wickets on the same score. The hosts failed to tighten the screw and Mitchell Santner played a captain's knock of 47, stitching an 84-run stand for the seventh wicket with Cole McConchie (31 not out).
The total of 168/7 was more than good on the surface and Pathum Nissanka's first-ball dismissal did not help Sri Lanka's chase. Lanka lost wickets at regular intervals, with Rachin Ravindra bagging 4/27 after scoring a handy 32 earlier in the evening.
Brief scores: New Zealand 168/7 in 20 overs (Santner 47, Ravindra 32, McConchie 31 not out, Maheesh Theekshana 3/30, Dushmantha Chameera 3/38) bt Sri Lanka 107/8 in 20 overs (Kamindu Mendis 31, Dunith Wellalage 29, Ravindra 4/27, Matt Henry 2/3)