New Zealand won by 61 points and eliminated Sri Lanka in the Super Eights stage.
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Published February 25, 2026
New Zealand bounced back from a poor start in the Twenty20 World Cup Super Eights, crushing Sri Lanka by 61 points and eliminating the co-hosts from the tournament.
Mitchell Santner led New Zealand’s comeback with a captain’s knock of 47 off 26 balls to make them competitive at 168-7 after pinning his team to a tough 84-5 at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium on Wednesday.
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Sri Lanka responded with 107-8 but could not recover from the collapse of their top order and suffered their second defeat in the Super Eights stage of the 20-team tournament.
Rachin Ravindra (4-27) and Matt Henry (2-3) were impressed with New Zealand’s ball.
Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka said: “It’s embarrassing to let down the home crowd. They were very cooperative.”
“We wanted to limit them to 130, but to be honest, they played really well, so you have to give them credit.”
It was a do-or-die game for Sri Lanka, who lost to England in the first match of the Super Eight, but when he first took to the field, he showed a sense of urgency with the ball.
New Zealand got off to a strong start but dropped openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert in successive overs.
They were 75-2 after 10 overs but Sri Lanka’s spinners wreaked havoc to reduce them to 84-6.
Mahish Teekshana (3-30) made a comeback by removing a well-set Ravindra (32 runs) and Mark Chapman in the same over.
Santner joined Cole McConchie, who made 31 not out, with a quick 47-ball stand of 84 that proved decisive.
Santner smashed four sixes and ensured the bowlers defended a decent total as New Zealand reeled off 70 runs from the last four overs.
Henry bowled Pathum Nissanka for a duck on the first ball of Sri Lanka’s innings, and in the next over he deceived Charice Asalanka with a slow delivery.
Player of the match Ravindra then smashed through Sri Lanka’s middle order, derailing the chase.
The left-arm spinner saw Kusal Mendis and Pavan Rathnayake stumble in the second wicket over, leaving Sri Lanka down to 29-4 in nine overs.
Ravindra also fired three Shanakas, effectively clinching victory.
Kamindu Mendis, 31, and Danis Wellaledge, 29, put up brief resistance, but Sri Lanka never gave chase.
“This is one of those turnstiles where you can cash in if you can come in and put in a little bit of time,” Santner said.
“It was a pretty difficult start, so I’m glad I got 160.”
England, the leaders in Group 2, earned four points from two games and booked a place in the semi-finals.
New Zealand went into this match with one point from their elimination game against Pakistan and now have three points.
