New Zealand produce stunning surge to knock co-hosts Sri Lanka out of T20 World Cup

[p]Mitchell Santner led [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-zealand/G6PWlrQB/"]New Zealand[/a]'s recovery with a captain's knock of 47 ‌off 26 balls after coming in with his side in huge trouble at 84-5 to power ‌them to a competitive 168-7 at the R Premadasa Stadium.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sri-lanka/zahH5UHg/"]Sri Lanka[/a] managed ‌107-8 in reply, never recovering from a top-order collapse to succumb to their second ‌defeat in the Super Eight stage of the 20-team tournament.[/p][p]Rachin Ravindra (4-27) and ‌Matt Henry (2-3) impressed with the ball for New Zealand.[/p][p]"[b]It's embarrassing to disappoint the home crowd, they've been very supportive[/b]," Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka said.[/p][p]"[b]We wanted to restrict them to ‌130 but, to be honest, they played really well ⁠so we must give them credit[/b]."[/p][p]Having ‌lost to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/england/UJC5mtAU/"]England[/a] in their first Super Eight match, it was a do-or-die game ​for Sri Lanka, and they initially showed a sense of urgency with the ball after electing to field.[/p][h2]New Zealand start well[/h2][p]New Zealand got ​off to a strong start before losing openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert in successive overs.[/p][p]They were 75-2 in the 10th over before the Sri Lankan ⁠spinners wreaked havoc to reduce ​them to 84-6.[/p][p]Maheesh Theekshana (3-30) removed the well-set Ravindra (32) and Mark Chapman in the same over to turn the screw.[/p][p]Santner joined Cole McConchie, who made 31 not out, in a rapid 47-ball stand of 84 that proved decisive.[/p][p]Santner smacked four sixes ‌as New Zealand plundered 70 runs from the last four overs to ensure their bowlers had a decent total to defend.[/p][p]Henry bowled Pathum Nissanka for a duck with the first ball of the Sri Lankan innings and deceived Charith Asalanka with a slower delivery in his next over.[/p][p]Player of the match Ravindra then whittled out Sri Lanka's middle order to derail the chase.[/p][embed guid="c5cb2324-0198-40dd-afb1-ac3bc74cda79" url="https://x.com/T20WorldCup/status/2026707797002563703" social-type="twitter" /][p]The left-arm spinner sent down a two-wicket over in which Kusal Mendis and Pavan Rathnayake were stumped to reduce Sri Lanka to 29-4 in the ninth over.[/p][p]Ravindra also dismissed ‌Shanaka for three to effectively seal their victory.[/p][p]Kamindu Mendis (31) and Dunith Wellalage (29) offered ​brief resistance but Sri Lanka were never in the chase.[/p][p]"[b]It's one of ‌those wickets where, if you can get in and give yourself a bit of time, you can cash in[/b]," Santner said.[/p][p]"[b]It was pretty tough to start out there, so to hit 160 was nice[/b]."[/p][p]Group Two leaders England have qualified for the semi-finals with four points from two matches.[/p][p]New ⁠Zealand, who came into the match ⁠with one point from their ‌washed-out match against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/pakistan/tS3K91g9/"]Pakistan[/a], have three points.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/cricket/new-zealand-G6PWlrQB/sri-lanka-zahH5UHg/?mid=nqKh92VG"]Check out the scorecard from the game here[/a][/b][/p]