New Zealand Knock Sri Lanka Out Of Tournament With 61-Run Triumph

 

Sri Lanka became the first team to get eliminated from the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2026 as they conceded a 61-run defeat against New Zealand at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Mitchell Santner shone with the bat for New Zealand, scoring 47 runs from 26 deliveries, while Rachin Ravindra starred with the ball, taking four wickets.

The target of 169 turned out to be too challenging for the Sri Lankan side, and they kept losing wickets. Kamindu Mendis (31) and Dunith Wellalage showed some resistence but it was not enough to help the team score a win. Eventually, they were restricted to 107/8 by the opposition. Rachin Ravindra picked up four wickets while Matt Henry picked up a couple of wickets for New Zealand.

 

Batting first, New Zealand suffered early blows and were 34/2. However, Glenn Phillips (18) and Rachin Ravindra (32) formed a partnership of 41 runs. But, New Zealand suffered a collapse and were reduced to 84/6 from 34/1. The duo of Mitchell Santner and Cole McConchie formed a partnership of 84 runs from 47 deliveries to help the team post 168/7 in the first innings. Mahesh Theekshana and Dushmantha Chameera picked three wickets each for the Sri Lankan side. After struggling early in the innings, New Zealand recovered well and posted a decent total on a challenging pitch.