New Zealand vs Sri Lanka Highlights, T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8: Rachin Ravindra rocks Sri Lanka out of World Cup; NZ win by 61 runs

Dushan Hemantha to Rachin Ravindra, A flighted delivery outside off at 82.9 kph. Rachin strides forward and looks to work it across the line but is beaten on the inside edge. Kusal Mendis gathers it cleanly behind the stumps and whips off the bails. They appeal for a stumping and the decision is referred upstairs, where replays confirm that Rachin’s back leg is grounded at the moment the bails are dislodged. NOT OUT.

Dushan Hemantha to Glenn Phillips, Full-length delivery, outside off, Glenn Phillips lunges and drives it a bit upishly toward wide long off for a single.

DRINKS BREAK! End of an eventful Powerplay, which was a tale of two halves. First 3 overs - 30/0, next 3 overs - 14/2. On a surface that has gripped for the spinners, Sri Lanka will look to take control through the middle phase. This is where they can really squeeze and build pressure. From New Zealand's perspective, it is upto their middle order to build through this phase of the game and assess what a good total will be on this track. The leggie Dushan Hemantha to bowl after the break.

Maheesh Theekshana to Rachin Ravindra, From around the wicket. Not that short, sliding in and around middle. Rachin Ravindra stays back and whips it to the left of mid-wicket for a couple of runs. New Zealand end their Powerplay on 44/2.

Maheesh Theekshana to Glenn Phillips, ABSOLUTE BEAUTY! Flicks the ball out from the front of his hand, landing it on a good length around off. The ball grips and turns away after pitching, squaring up Glenn Phillips as he looks to work it into the leg side. It takes a faint outside edge, just evading the off stump, before striking Kusal Mendis on the right arm and deflecting towards the short third region, allowing a single. Was very close to the off pole though.

Maheesh Theekshana to Glenn Phillips, Straighter ball, full and in front of middle, Glenn Phillips plays with a straight bat and blocks it back to the bowler watchfully.

Maheesh Theekshana to Rachin Ravindra, Drags the length back, outside off, Rachin crunches it to cover where the fielder moves rapidly to his right and stops it. One taken.

Maheesh Theekshana to Glenn Phillips, The carrom ball, on off, on a good length, Phillips knocks it to the left of mid off for a single.

Maheesh Theekshana to Glenn Phillips, Sharp grip on a length, on leg, Glenn Phillips looks to nudge it around the corner, plays all around it and gets rapped on the thigh pad.

Dushmantha Chameera to Rachin Ravindra, BEATEN! Good response by Chameera! Hits the deck hard, nips in from around the off stump, cutting the batter in half. Rachin gets flummoxed as he tries to block off the back foot, but gets beaten on the inside edge.

Dushmantha Chameera to Rachin Ravindra, FOUR! Glorious! Back of a length, width offered outside off, Rachin Ravindra gets on top of the bounce and cracks the shot through the cover gap for a crisp boundary. That's trademark Rachin Ravindra.

Dushmantha Chameera to Glenn Phillips, Slower length ball, on the stumps, jagging back in. Glenn tucks it to the mid-wicket region for a single.

Dushmantha Chameera to Glenn Phillips, Searing pace, almost a yorker, on off, Glenn Phillips carves it out to the point region. Wait on! There's an appeal from Dasun Shanaka for LBW, but the timer runs out and the replay shows that it was all bat.

Glenn Phillips is the new batter. The dropped catch of Tim Seifert does not cost the Lankans much. Having dismissed both openers, they have their tails up. The crowd is right behind Chameera as he steams in. Get a slip in, pleads Angelo Mathews on air.

Dushmantha Chameera to Tim Seifert, OUT! CAUGHT! Spectacular catch by Kamindu Mendis and Sri Lanka have managed to dismiss both the Kiwi openers inside the Powerplay. Chameera slips in a full ball, around middle and leg. The ball nips back in a touch as well and hurries Seifert in his shot. He whips it across, but does not get the desired distance and airs it towards deep square leg. Kamindu Mendis runs to his left, times his leap to perfection and takes a well-judged catch in the outfield. New Zealand slip from 30/0 to 34/2.

Dushmantha Chameera to Rachin Ravindra, On a hard length, on off, Rachin Ravindra crisply punches it between mid off and cover. Dunith Wellalage swiftly moves and dives to his right from mid off to intercept it, keeping it down to a single only.

Dushmantha Chameera has been introduced into the attack. The right-arm speedster replaces Dilshan Madushanka.

Maheesh Theekshana to Tim Seifert, Off break on a length, on off, Tim Seifert stabs it down the pitch. Theekshana dives to his right and stops it. Excellent start for Theekshana. A wicket and just 3 runs from it.

Maheesh Theekshana to Rachin Ravindra, Full and quick, driven down to long off for a single.

Maheesh Theekshana to Tim Seifert, Stump-to-stump line, on a length, Tim nudges it through mid on for a run.

Maheesh Theekshana to Rachin Ravindra, Fullish and on off, Rachin drives it to long off for a single.

Maheesh Theekshana to Rachin Ravindra, Full and on off, Rachin blocks off the front foot.

In walks Rachin Ravindra at number 3.

Maheesh Theekshana to Finn Allen, OUT! CAUGHT AND BOWLED! Maheesh Theekshana makes amends for his dropped catch and provides the first breakthrough for his side. Not a wicket-taking delivery by any means, as he dishes out a carrom ball on a length, angling on the leg stump. Finn Allen backs away and tries to whip it across, but does not read the variation from Theekshana. Ends up chipping it tamely off the leading edge and it lobs back to the bowler. The ball dips on Maheesh Theekshana as dives to his left to take a fine catch. New Zealand are 30/1.

Will Dasun Shanaka persist with Dunith Wellalage? The answer is no. Maheesh Theekshana replaces Wellalage. He will be keen to make amends after dropping Seifert in the previous over.

Dilshan Madushanka to Finn Allen, A low full toss that tails back in and around leg. Allen drills it wide of mid off and steals a quick single.

Dilshan Madushanka to Finn Allen, Slower one, on a length, outside off, Allen throws the kitchen sink at it to slash it through point, but only manages a thick under edge and the ball bounces back to the keeper.

Dilshan Madushanka to Finn Allen, FOUR! Top shot! Very full, almost a half volley, on middle, Allen gets under the ball nicely and pummels it over the bowler for a boundary straight down the ground. The camera pans to Theekshana, who has his hands on his head.

Dilshan Madushanka to Tim Seifert, DROPPED! Theekshana is the guilty party and Dilshan Madushanka has a go at his teammate. Full and outside off, Tim Seifert tries to thrash that away to the off side, but gets a fat outside edge and the ball flies to the left of short third. Maheesh Theekshana is a bit late diving and throws himself to take the catch, but doesn't hold on to it. A single taken. But that's a very costly drop early in the innings and only time will tell how much it will affect the Islanders.

Dilshan Madushanka to Tim Seifert, Full and on off, Tim clears the front leg, heaves it off the inner half of the bat to mid-wicket.

Dilshan Madushanka to Finn Allen, Quick run! At 118.6 kph, this one swings back in on a good length, Finn punches it off the back foot to the right of mid off and sets off for a single. The fielder there gets across and throws it in one motion, but misses his shy at the bowling end. Allen was in any way.

Dunith Wellalage to Tim Seifert, FOUR! PUNISHED! A bit too short by Wellalage, drifting on the leg stump. Tim Seifert is quick to pivot on the back foot and pulls it through the vacant square leg region, beating deep mid-wicket's chase for the third boundary of the over. A very profitable over for New Zealand. 15 from it.

Dunith Wellalage to Finn Allen, Slowish through the air, on a fuller length, Allen pushes it to the cover region for an easy single.

Dunith Wellalage to Finn Allen, FOUR MORE! A bit uppish, but it goes safely. Spins away from off, on a good length with some bounce. Allen throws his hands at it and gets a thickish outside edge. The ball goes uppishly but between cover and backward point for a boundary.

Dunith Wellalage to Finn Allen, FOUR! Through the gap! A touch short by Dunith, around off, Finn Allen rocks back and cracks the back foot punch through the cover and mid off gap for a boundary.

Dunith Wellalage to Tim Seifert, Slides back in on a length, on middle, Tim Seifert nudges it off the inner half of the bat to mid on for a single.

Dunith Wellalage to Finn Allen, In-drifter on a fuller length, on off, Finn backs away and knocks it down to long off for a single.

It will be spin from the other end in the form of the left-arm finger spinner, Dunith Wellalage. A move on expected lines given the presence of two right-handers at the crease. From around the wicket with a slip in place.

Dilshan Madushanka to Tim Seifert, One more that nips back in from off. Tim gets forward and tries to whip it across, but inside edges on the front boot and the ball then trickles to the catching or the silly mid off.

A quick chat between the umpire Asif Yaqoob and the Sri Lankan skipper, Dasun Shanaka. Russel Arnold believes the home side was asking if that was a four.

Dilshan Madushanka to Finn Allen, Gentle inswing on the leg stump, Finn drives it off the front foot, all along the ground to long on for a single.

Dilshan Madushanka to Finn Allen, SIX! Just over! A bit of inswing on a fuller length, on middle. Slightly overpitched and Finn Allen whips it off the inner half, targets the shorter boundary and clears deep mid-wicket for the first six of the game. It goes 71 meters.

Dilshan Madushanka to Finn Allen, On a back of a length, shaping in from off, Finn bunts it off the back foot and Madushanka dives to his right on the follow-through to stop the ball. That brings about a loud cheer from the crowd at the Premadasa.

Dilshan Madushanka to Finn Allen, The short mid off stays for Allen. In-angler again, full and on middle, Finn Allen pushes at it with hard hands, gets a thick inside edge. The ball brushes the pads and rolls back to the bowler.

Dilshan Madushanka to Tim Seifert, Movement straightaway! Madushanka swings the ball into the batter, on a good length, from middle to leg. Tim Seifert looks to work it across to the leg side, but gets a thick inside edge on the back thigh and the ball then rolls wide of point for a single.

The pre-match formalities are done. Dasun Shanaka has his troops in a huddle for a pep talk before taking the field. Out walk the Bash Brothers, Finn Allen and Tim Seifert. Left-arm quick, Dilshan Madushanka will kickstart proceedings. No slip, but Sri Lanka have a short mid off in place for Seifert. Interesting. Here we go!

We are moments away from the first ball, but before that, the two teams will line up for the national anthems. Dasun Shanaka and Mitchell Santner share a fist bump as they lead their sides out onto the park. It will be New Zealand's national anthem first, followed by that of the home side.

A quick word - New Zealand's Ish Sodhi expresses gratitude for being among the top wicket-takers in T20Is, adding that it feels good to be in Sri Lanka and that he is eager to get going. Reflecting on his flipper, he shares that he first attempted the delivery at the age of 12 but took nearly 21 years to confidently use it in a match. Ish describes it as a skill developed over a long period, crediting Shane Warne for his guidance, having learned key nuances of the art from the legendary spinner. Speaking about his improved run-up and rhythm, Sodhi explains that it stems from adapting to the evolving demands of T20 cricket. He notes that pitches in New Zealand tend to favour seam bowling, prompting him to add more energy to his approach after feeling he was previously bowling too slowly. He adds that this adjustment, made over the past three to four years, is now yielding results. On playing in Sri Lanka, Sodhi points out that conditions differ significantly from those in India but stresses that New Zealand possess a strong and adaptable batting unit. With all Super 8 matches being crucial, he stresses the importance of building momentum ahead of their clash against England.