At R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo: Black Caps 168-7 (Mitchell Santner 47 off 26; Maheesh Theekshana 3-30 off 4) beat Sri Lanka 107-8 (Dunith Wellalage 29 off 23; Rachin Ravindra 4-27 off 4) by 61 runs. Click here for the full scorecard.
The Black Caps have put one foot and most of the other in the semifinals at the Twenty20 World Cup, after a remarkable late-innings rally set them up for a 61-run win over co-hosts Sri Lanka in Colombo on Wednesday (Thursday NZ time).
Playing for the first time in eight days – after their first Super Eights match against Pakistan was washed out without a ball being bowled – New Zealand got off to a solid start after being sent in at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
But when they lost three wickets in seven balls without adding a run and slipped from 84-3 to 84-6 midway through their innings, during a stretch where they went 32 balls without scoring a boundary, they appeared to be on their way to posting a painfully low total.
Then came a record-breaking 84-run partnership for the seventh wicket between captain Mitchell Santner (47 off 26) and fellow all-rounder Cole McConchie (31no off 23) – New Zealand’s highest for that wicket and the highest by any team for that wicket at a World Cup – which lifted them to a more than competitive 168-7.
Sri Lanka lost their way with the ball at the end of the Black Caps’ innings, conceding 70 runs off their last four overs, and their target looked a long way away when they lost two wickets inside the power play, with the asking rate shooting up towards 11 runs per over.
Needing to chase down 169 to stay alive in the World Cup, they ultimately made just 107-8, with Rachin Ravindra taking 4-27 from his four overs and Matt Henry taking 2-3 off two.
The Black Caps went in with a spin-heavy attack, bringing in off-spinner McConchie for Jimmy Neesham in what turned out to be an inspired move.
Maheesh Theekshana had a quick redemption arc early, going from dropping Tim Seifert at short third off Dilshan Madushanka in the third over to taking a return catch from Finn Allen – the stronger starter – in the fourth.
After Allen walked off having scored 23 off 13, Seifert only lasted seven more balls before picking out Kamindu Mendis at deep square leg off the bowling of Dushmantha Chameera.
Ravindra was dropped by Dasun Shanaka on 25 off 16 when he skied one off Chameera, but the seamer went straight through Glenn Phillips with his next ball, sending him on his way for 18 off 18.
At the halfway stage, the Black Caps were 75-3, but Theekshana returned soon after and got Ravindra to cut a short one to backward point on 32 off 22.
He then bowled Mark Chapman for a two-ball duck to leave New Zealand’s middle order in tatters and the damage got worse when Dunith Wellalage bowled Daryl Mitchell for three.
Between Ravindra sweeping Wellalage for four off the second ball of the 10th over and McConchie sweeping Charith Asalanka for four off the fifth ball of the 15th, there was a 32-delivery stretch where the Black Caps scored just 14 runs without finding the rope while losing three wickets.
But having battled their way to the death overs, McConchie and Santner were able to attack and lift their side to a competitive total.
From 98-6 with four overs to go, they scored 70 off the last 24 balls they faced, giving their team-mates plenty of reason to believe as they took the field.
Santner scored 42 off the last 15 balls he faced, having been on five off 11, while McConchie scored 28 off the last 11 he faced, having been on three off 12.
That belief would have gone up a notch after Henry bowled Pathum Nissanka with his first delivery and went on to bowl his side’s first maiden of the World Cup.
He then had Asalanka caught by Mitchell off the first ball of his second over and after six overs Sri Lanka were in a massive hole at 20-2.
Kusal Mendis was clearly hampered by a leg injury and was stumped for 11 off 22 when Ravindra came on to bowl the ninth over.
Pavan Rathnayake was then dismissed in the same fashion for 10 off 18 – Seifert reacting sharply on both occasions – and at the halfway stage of their chase, Sri Lanka were 45-4, gone for all money.
They began the 17th over needing 82 off 24.
That was a dozen more than New Zealand managed from the same point and there was no second miracle.
The Black Caps’ 17 overs of spin equalled their record in a T20I, set in India in January 2023.
What’s next
The Black Caps face England in their last Super Eights match in Colombo in two days’ time (first ball 2.30am Saturday NZ time).
A win will put them through to the final four as the top qualifier from group two, while a loss will likely mean they advance in second place, even if Pakistan then beat Sri Lanka 24 hours later to join them on three points.
New Zealand’s big win over Sri Lanka has given them a massive net run rate advantage over their only remaining rival. England are already safely through.
As things stand, the Black Caps have a net run rate of +3.050, an extremely healthy advantage over Pakistan, who have a net run rate of -0.461, after losing narrowly to England in their one completed match.
The T20 World Cup continues on Thursday with a group one match between India and Zimbabwe, who lost to South Africa and the West Indies respectively in their first Super Eights outings.