New Zealand defeat Sri Lanka to secure crucial points in T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 match

New Zealand registered a convincing win over Sri Lanka in their Super 8 Group 2 encounter of the T20 World Cup 2026, strengthening their chances of progressing further.

New Zealand (Image Credit: ICC)

New Zealand have defeated Sri Lanka in the Super 8 stage of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at the R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. With this win, they are on the verge of qualifying for the semi-finals along with England. Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and decided to field first against a fine New Zealand bowling attack.

When the Kiwi batters came to bat, they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner and Cole McConchie helped them reach a respectable total on the board. Thanks to these three, they scored 168 runs in the first innings. While Santner scored 47 off 26 balls, hitting two boundaries and four sixes, Ravindra and Cole scored 32 and 31, respectively.

Matheesha Theekshana and Dushmantha Chameera did a great job in handling the pressure and keeping the batters under control. They claimed three wickets each and didn't allow the batters to settle down at all. Hence, they failed to put on a high score on the board.

Also read: Anirudh Ravichander to perform in Chennai before IND vs ZIM clash in T20 World Cup 2026

Rachin Ravindra's all-round performance put Sri Lanka in back seat

Sri Lanka were shocked when their innings started by losing their star batter Pathum Nissanka to Matt Henry on the very first ball of the match. He was out n a golden duck followed by other wickets. The batters kept losing wickets at regular intervals. It was New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra who picked up four wickets and contributed with the bat as well.

For an all-round performance, he was awarded with the Player of the Match trophy. He was quite happy with the team's performance at the end of the match. "Yeah, I mean, it's always pleasing to have a win like that and come in their own conditions and play a good game of cricket. Obviously, credit to Sri Lanka. They're amazing, especially at home. But it was almost a pretty much complete performance. And it was awesome to see contributions across the board from our team," said Ravindra at the post-match presentation.

Where to watch India vs Zimbabwe match?

Cricket fans in India can watch the India vs Zimbabwe match on February 26 online on JioHotstar, via OTTplay Premium.

Also read: India's star batter returns home due to emergency ahead of clash vs ZIM in T20 World Cup 2026

Share