SL vs NZ | Ravindra and Santner power Kiwis to big win over Sri Lanka in Super Eight contest

‌Rachin Ravindra had a field day with both bat and ball as New Zealand eliminated Sri Lanka from the 2026 T20 World Cup with a 61-run win in Colombo on Wednesday. The all-rounder recorded career-best figures of 4/27, after a valuable innings with the bat, to help scuttle the co-hosts’ chase and register their first win in the Super Eights after a washed out encounter against Pakistan.

After being put into bat at the R Premadasa Stadium, the Blackcaps found themselves at a precarious 98/6 after 16 overs, despite Ravindra’s 22-ball 32, which included a six and three boundaries. However, skipper Mitchell Santner came up with a stunning rearguard to smash four sixes and two boundaries during his entertaining cameo of 47 in just 26 balls, as the visitors ended at a challenging 168/7. The southpaw was also involved in an 84-run association with Cole McConchie (31*), which included a stunning assault of 70 runs in the last four overs, before being dismissed off the final ball of the innings. Meanwhile, spinner Maheesh Theekshana was the pick among the Lankan bowlers with a spell of 3/30 in four overs, with pacer Dushmantha Chameera picking up 3/38 in his quota of overs.

In return, Sri Lanka went into a shell straightaway after Matt Henry inflicted a double blow, including the wicket of the in-form Pathum Nissanka in the first ball after restart. That forced the island nation to trade off their aggression, ending the powerplay at a sorry-looking 20/2. From then on, they had to play catch up on a surface that was slow, turned and made shot-making a challenge. Unsurprisingly, they slid to 59/6 in the 13th over and surrendered meekly despite the best efforts from Kamindu Mendis and Dunith Wellalage. The pair scored 31 and 23, respectively to take the home side’s total past 100 before the innings ended at 107/8. For the Kiwis, apart from Ravindra, pacer Henry ended with impressive figures of 2/3 in his two-over spell.

Eliminated!