ICC T20 World Cup: New Zealand’s resounding fightback knocks Sri Lanka out of the tournament

But that’s exactly how it felt for the first third of Wednesday’s match before the Lankans were trounced by 61 runs to exit the tournament with a whimper. Having reduced the Kiwis – who were playing their first match of the tournament in the country and running cold after their match against Pakistan was washed out – to 84 for six by the 13th over, the match was there for the taking for the co-hosts.

Instead, a resounding rearguard partnership from New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner and Cole McConchie would add the same number of runs – their stand of 84 being the highest seventh-wicket stand at a T20 World Cup – to take the Kiwis to a competitive total of 168 for 7.

Until then, it had been the Lankan spinners ruling the roost. Maheesh Theekshana recovered from dropping a catch early on by holding on to one from Finn Allen off his own bowling, opening the floodgates. The Kiwis were kept to 44 for 2 in the Powerplay, their lowest this World Cup. Subsequent partnerships were regularly broken by Theekshana and Dunith Wellalage, who came back from an early beating to castle Daryl Mitchell.

Santner walked in with the job of saving the Kiwis’ campaign in the tournament. Luckily for him, the overs of spin were coming to an end and he got to tonk the pacers.

Dushmantha Chameera had been among the wickets but both Santner and McConchie targeted him with crafty manipulation square of the wicket, either flicking over the leg-side or timing shots behind point. The strategy upset the Lankan tactics, following which they totally lost their discipline. As many as 70 runs came in the final four overs.

That the damage was done, and the pressure had transferred onto the hosts, became clear right at the start of the chase. Matt Henry sent down a ripper to take down Nissanka’s middle-stump, following which the Lankan batting retreated into itself. An over later, Charith Asalanka mistimed an off-pace cutter from Henry; and Lanka were playing catch-up from there, ending the Powerplay at 20 for 2.

While Theekshana was most effective for the hosts, all-rounder Rachin Ravindra proved to be mighty for the Kiwis. He is in the side for his top-order batting, but his handy left-arm finger-spin continues to be effective. He finished his four-over spell with career-best figures of four for 27, each of his wickets putting Lankans increasingly behind the game.

By the time Wellalage hit the only six of the second innings, the match was effectively over. The slow crawl to 107 for 8 only strengthened New Zealand’s position further, causing such a huge uptick in their net run rate that even a defeat to England in their next game may not prevent their progress into the semifinal, leaving Pakistan in the lurch.

Brief Scores: New Zealand 168/7 in 20 overs (Santner 47, Cole McConchie 31 not out; Maheesh Theekshana 3/30) beat Sri Lanka 107/8 in 20 overs (Kamindu Mendis 31; Rachin Ravindra 4/27) by 61 runs.