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Player of the Match: Rachin Ravindra

Rachin Ravindra (Player of the Match): "[Feeling after this massive win] It's always pleasing to get a win like that. Credit to Sri Lanka. They are amazing at home. But it was almost a complete performance from us.

[What worked while bowling here?] Understanding that slow was better. A few stats were put up before our game against Pakistan that bowling below 85 kmph was better. Santner is a master at that craft and we decided that bowling slower will be the plan. Maheesh also bowled to us with those slow offies and it helped us understand better.

[On contributing in all facets of the game] Just contributing to the team. If you can bat in top three and bowl some overs, it will help the team. It's good to contribute with both bat and ball.

[On playing in front of the Lankan crowd] The Sri Lankan crowd was amazing. To get there and listen the national anthems, it reminds why you play the game. They were also screaming 'New Zealand, New Zealand'. Credit to them for turning up in massive numbers to support Sri Lanka.

Most Wickets by New Zealand Spinners in an Innings in T20 WCs:

9 vs India, Nagpur, 2016

6 vs Sri Lanka, Colombo (RPS), 2026, Tonight*

Most Overs Bowled by Spinners in a T20 WC Match:

31.0 overs – India vs Pakistan, Colombo (RPS), 2026

30.0 overs – Sri Lanka vs New Zealand, Colombo (RPS), 2026, Tonight*

26.0 overs – Australia vs Pakistan, Colombo (RPS), 2012

Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka Captain): [on the match] "It is embarrassing to disappoint the home crowd. They have been very supportive. We started really well but that partnership took the game away from us. The decision to bat was a collective one but we didn't expect the wicket to turn that much since it's a new pitch.

[were they unable to restrict NZ?] We wanted to restrict them around 130. Our best bowlers bowling at the given time. To be honest, they played really well so we must give the credit to Mitch Santner and Cole.

[on Kusal's injury] Yeah he came to the game with that issue. He is a key player for us. It's that kind of the day when nobody got that start for us.

[on whether he would have opted to bowl] I thought the wicket might settle bit since it's a new pitch but the way they bowled - the areas - which we didn't bowl. We bowled occasionally but not all the time we were hitting the length. We need to give credit to the New Zealand bowlers which they executed really well tonight."

[on finishing the tournament on high] Absolutely one  more game. We need to finish it high. Hopefully we will do our best game in that game.

[on bouncing back after a loss like this] The batsmen need to take a little responsibility at the top and we can't rely on 1 or 2 batsmen in a game, so all the batters need to take the positive option. If you get out taking the positive option you can be relaxed coming out to the dugout. But here it is not the thing. We don't take the chances. It is T20 cricket, you need to show the intent little bit more."

Mitchell Santner (New Zealand Captain): "[on his thoughts at 84/6] It's obviously a nice little period there for Sri Lanka with the ball. They squeezed us a lot. We lost 3 wickets on a hit which is never ideal. Me and Cole were thinking we're trying to get to 140 but that kind of set it up for the last kind of 2-3 overs and to get 160 was not bad from there.

[on his form with the bat] 4 off 10 last game, wasn't happy. It's kind of one of those wickets where if you get in, give yourself a little bit of time, you can kind of cash in. Me and Cole were thinking the same. Pretty tough to start out there so to get 160 was nice and then with the ball we kind of knew what we had to do with watching the whole first innings.

[on McConchie's selection] At the toss it looked like a pretty good wicket. It probably spun more than we both thought. With the big side as the spinner you can kind of control your lengths and get hit to the big side when the ball's spinning in like that. It's fantastic for Cole. A nervy start with me and him at the crease there. But then we were just chill and took it quite deep which was nice.

[on the spinners] We've watched a few games here whether it's been Super 8 or before. It's kind of endless slow you bowl, the more it kind of spins and I don't need a second invitation to bowl slow. All the spinners were quite nice and effective.

[on playing England] They are outstanding, we know that. Quick turnaround for us. We'll see what pitch we're on if it plays something similar, it might be a slugfest as well."

A disappointing evening in Colombo for the co-hosts Sri Lanka, who have only themselves to blame. They were comprehensively beaten by New Zealand, who not only secured the win but also received a massive boost to their Net Run Rate — something that will seriously concern Pakistan, who were closely tracking this result from their hotel.

Now the equation is simple. If New Zealand beat England in their final group game, they will march into the semi-finals alongside an already-qualified England. However, if the Kiwis lose, the door swings open for Pakistan, who must then defeat Sri Lanka by a significant margin to overhaul New Zealand’s NRR and sneak into the semis. The group is getting tighter by the hour.

And the excitement doesn’t stop there. A blockbuster double-header awaits in Group 1 tomorrow — South Africa face West Indies in Ahmedabad, a match Indian fans will keenly follow, hoping for a Proteas win to aid the Men in Blue. Later in the evening, India take on Zimbabwe in Chennai in what promises to be another crucial contest.

For now, this is Pritam Dey signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Akshay Bhide & Ninaad Dixit who, along with scorer/analyst Raju Khariya & statistician Aman brought all the updates of this clash. Stay tuned for more cricketing action from around the world. BYE BYE👋