New Zealand fight back to eliminate cohosts Sri Lanka from T20 World Cup

New Zealand win by 61 runs, ejecting Sri Lanka at the Super Eights stage.Published On 25 Feb 2026⁠New Zealand have recovered from a poor start to crush Sri Lanka by 61 runs in the Twenty20 World Cup Super Eights and eliminate the cohosts from the tournament.Mitchell ⁠Santner led New Zealand’s recovery on Wednesday 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 in Colombo.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Senegal prime minister decries Morocco’s jailing of fans after AFCON finallist 2 of 4Bodo/Glimt: Team from the Arctic Circle on a fairytale Champions League runlist 3 of 4Prestianni, Mourinho suspended as Real Madrid face Benfica amid racism rowlist 4 of 4Residents raise alarm as violence-hit Guadalajara to host World Cup gamesend of listSri ⁠Lanka managed 107-8 in reply, never recovering from a top-order collapse and succumbing to their second defeat in the Super Eight stage of the 20-team tournament.Rachin Ravindra (4-27) and Matt Henry (2-3) impressed with the ball for New Zealand.“It’s embarrassing to disappoint the home crowd. They’ve been very supportive,” Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka said.“We wanted to restrict them to 130, ‌but to be honest, they played really well, so we must give them credit.”Having lost to England 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.New Zealand got off to a strong start before losing openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert in successive overs.They were 75-2 in the 10th over before the Sri Lankan spinners wreaked havoc to reduce them to 84-6.Maheesh Theekshana (3-30) removed the well-set ⁠Ravindra (32) and Mark Chapman in the same over to turn the screw.Santner joined ⁠Cole McConchie, who made 31 not out, in a rapid 47-ball stand of 84 that proved decisive.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.