New Delhi, Feb. 26 -- In a high-stakes Super 8 encounter at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday (February 25), New Zealand delivered a commanding all-round performance to defeat co-hosts Sri Lanka by 61 runs. This result eliminated Sri Lanka from the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 contention while boosting New Zealand's hopes of reaching the semifinals.

Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to field first, hoping to exploit home conditions. New Zealand's innings started steadily but hit turbulence midway. They slumped to 84/6, with Maheesh Theekshana (3/30) and Dushmantha Chameera (3/38) applying pressure through tight bowling.

The turning point came from a seventh-wicket partnership. Captain Mitchell Santne...