Sri Lanka crash out of T20 World Cup as New Zealnd win by 61 runs

New Zealand registered a comfortable 61-run win over Sri Lanka in the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, Group 2, at RPS, ending Sri Lanka's hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.

Chasing a challenging target, Sri Lanka were restricted to 107 for 8 in their allotted 20 overs. Kamindu Mendis scored 31 runs and Dunith Wellalage scored 29, but the hosts failed to build a significant partnership under increasing pressure.

The New Zealand bowlers put in a clinical performance, with Rachin Ravindra taking 4 wickets for 27 runs. Matt Henry bowled devastatingly with the ball, taking 2 wickets for 3 runs, while Mitchell Santner took 1 wicket for 19 runs to seal a comprehensive victory.

With this defeat, Sri Lanka is officially out of contention for a place in the semi-finals of the tournament.