Sri Lanka stun White Ferns to leave World Cup defence in tatters

4h ago AP

Match Report

4h ago AP

New Zealand's semi-final hopes are hanging by a thread after a second straight loss in Southampton

Sri Lanka have beaten New Zealand for the first time in a women's T20 World Cup after a match-winning partnership between Nilakshi de Silva and Kaushini Nuthyangana sealed a thriller in Southampton.

De Silva (54no from 37) and Kaushini Nuthyangana (24no from 14) combined for an unbeaten six-wicket stand of 48 runs off 28 balls to reach their target of 151 with two balls remaining at the Rose Bowl.

New Zealand have now lost their first two group matches. Only one team in tournament history has advanced to the semi-finals with two defeats - South Africa at home in 2023.

The White Ferns were tainted again by dropped catches; six in the opening loss to the West Indies and three more against Sri Lanka, two of them key.

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu was put down on six and made 27 to start their charge in the powerplay, while Silva was dropped on one and made 54 not out.

Sri Lanka ended up 5-153 in reply to New Zealand’s 6-150.

"New Zealand is one of the best teams and the world champions, and the tournament favorites," Athapaththu said.

"We beat them and it means we can beat anyone in the comp, we just need to execute our plans."

An unchanged New Zealand from the West Indies loss on Saturday chose to bat first on the same pitch but only captain Melie Kerr and Sophie Devine got going, scoring 45 apiece.

ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 standings

Round 1

Group 1

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Net Run Rate NRR	Total points PTS
1 Australia Women AUS	1	1	0	3.25	2
2 India Women IND	1	1	0	3.2	2
3 Bangladesh Women BAN	1	1	0	0.407	2
4 Netherlands Women NED	1	0	1	-0.407	0
5 Pakistan Women PAK	1	0	1	-3.2	0
6 South Africa Women SA	1	0	1	-3.25	0

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

D: Drawn

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

Bat: Batting Bonus

Bowl: Bowling Bonus

PTS: Total points

Group 2

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Net Run Rate NRR	Total points PTS
1 England Women ENG	2	2	0	2.763	4
2 Scotland Women SCO	1	1	0	2	2
3 West Indies Women WI	1	1	0	0.118	2
4 Sri Lanka Women SL	2	1	1	-2.04	2
5 New Zealand Women NZ	2	0	2	-0.2	0
6 Ireland Women IRE	2	0	2	-1.492	0