Sri Lanka has suffered its third consecutive defeat in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. The Sri Lankan team, which started the tournament with a hat-trick of wins, had to face a crushing defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe in the last match of the group stage. After this, he has lost the second consecutive Super-8 match. After being beaten by England, the Sri Lankan team has now lost to New Zealand as well. With this defeat, the co-host Sri Lankan team of the tournament is out.
After losing the toss and opting to bat first at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, the Kiwi team scored 168 runs at the loss of 7 wickets and then registered a huge victory by 61 runs by restricting Sri Lanka to the score of 107/8. Pakistan has also got a shock of 440 volts due to New Zealand’s victory. Pakistan team’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals are almost dashed. England has already confirmed its place in the semi-finals from Group-2 of Super-8. New Zealand has taken its first step into the last-4 with 3 points and a net run rate of 3.050.
Also read: ‘Winning the World Cup…’ Batting coach told what Team India will have to do now!
How will things work out for Pakistan?
New Zealand’s big victory means that now it has become not only difficult but impossible for Pakistan to reach the semi-finals. To reach the semi-finals, the Pakistan team will have to pray that New Zealand loses to England in their last Super-8 match on Friday (27 February). The team captained by Salman Ali Aga will then have to register a win against Sri Lanka on Saturday. However, even this will not suffice. This is because both the teams will have 3-3 points. In this situation, the team with better net run rate will reach the semi-finals. If New Zealand wins against England then Pakistan will be in trouble.
Also read: India’s net run rate can improve, these things will have to be done against Zimbabwe
Santner-McConchie overturned the match
When invited to bat first, New Zealand lost 6 wickets before reaching 84 runs. From here, captain Mitchell Santner along with Cole McConchie took the lead and made a partnership of 84 runs in 47 balls for the seventh wicket, giving his team a strong score. Santner scored 47 runs in 26 balls hitting 2 fours and 4 sixes before getting out on the last ball. McConchie scored unbeaten 31 runs in 23 balls, which included 3 fours and 2 sixes. For Sri Lanka, Mahish Theekshana and Dushmantha Chameera took 3 wickets each.
The Sri Lankan team never appeared competitive while chasing the target. She could score only 20 runs at the loss of 2 wickets in the powerplay. After this, Rachin Ravindra gave him four consecutive blows and decided his big defeat. Only Kamindu Mendis could show some intent. He scored 31 runs in 23 balls. Rachin Ravindra took 4 wickets for 27 runs in 4 overs. Earlier he scored 32 runs in 22 balls. He was awarded the Player of the Match award.
Comments are closed.