Sri Lanka’s journey in T20 World Cup 2026 ends, New Zealand defeated and eliminated the host from the tournament.

By Samira Vishwas On Feb 26, 2026

SL vs NZ, T20 World Cup 2026 Match Report: In the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, host Sri Lanka had to face a crushing defeat by 61 runs against New Zealand in its second match of Super-8. With this one-sided defeat, the Sri Lankan team’s dream of reaching the semi-finals was completely shattered. The team that entered the tournament with high expectations could not withstand the pressure in the decisive match. Captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and decided to bowl first, but this strategy did not go in favor of the team.

New Zealand’s comeback from struggle

Batting first, New Zealand did not have a good start. The Kiwis had lost 6 wickets for 84 runs and it seemed that Sri Lanka would take control of the match. However, after this, captain Mitchell Santner and Cole McConchie took charge of the innings and made a brilliant partnership. There was an important partnership of 84 runs in 47 balls between the two for the 7th wicket, which changed the course of the match.

New Zealand rise to the occasion in Colombo to keep their #T20WorldCup 2026 semi-final hopes alive motiv
📝: pic.twitter.com/cUmI1Uca22
— ICC (@ICC) February 25, 2026

Santner played an aggressive innings of 47 runs in 26 balls, while McConchie scored an unbeaten 31 runs to put the team in a strong position. New Zealand scored a competitive score of 168 runs at the loss of 7 wickets in 20 overs.

Sri Lanka’s faltering batting

Sri Lanka had a very poor start while chasing the target of 169 runs. The team lost five of its key batsmen within 46 runs, almost ending its hopes of making a comeback in the match. The continuous falling of wickets also affected the run rate. The entire team could score only 107 runs at the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs. The failure of the top order put additional pressure on the middle order, which they could not handle.

Rachin Ravindra was most successful in bowling for New Zealand. He took 4 wickets and broke the back of Sri Lankan batting. Matt Henry took 2 wickets, while Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips took 1 wicket each.

Also read: Aamir made prediction on Pakistan team, not India, said- Salman Agha will not be the captain after T20 World Cup

Sri Lankan bowling

Talking about Sri Lanka’s bowling, Mahesh Tikshina and Dushmantha Chameera performed well by taking 3 wickets each. Dunith Vellallage also got 1 wicket. For a time the bowlers kept New Zealand under pressure, but in the last overs the partnership between Santner and McConchie changed the whole game. With this defeat, Sri Lanka’s journey in the tournament ended, while New Zealand took strong steps towards the semi-finals.