Sri Lanka, what a performance! They defeated New Zealand by five wickets in a thrilling match. The other day, Shemaine Campbelle broke New Zealand’s hearts, and today it was Nilakshi de Silva who starred. This was Sri Lanka’s first-ever win over New Zealand in the Women’s T20 World Cup. The defending champions suffered another defeat and will regret their poor fielding and missed chances.
Chasing 151, Sri Lanka got off to a solid start. Skipper Chamari Athapaththu went berserk after being dropped on seven. She scored a quickfire 19-ball 27 before getting cleaned up in the final over of the powerplay. It opened the gate for the White Ferns, who stormed back into the contest.
Vishmi Gunaratne (17), Harshitha Samarawickrama (5) and Hasini Perera (2) were dismissed in a quick succession as Sri Lanka slipped from 45/1 to 55/4. Kavisha Dilhari and Nilakshi de Silva steadied the ship with a wonderful 50-run stand before the former got run out on 17 in the 15th over. Nilakshi though kept going strong after being dropped early in her innings on seven by Bree Illing.
Nilakshi stars as Sri Lanka stun New Zealand in thriller
The game went down the wire. With 16 required from the last 2 overs, de Silva and Kaushani Nuthyangana scored 11 runs in the 19th over. With 5 required from the final over, the pair held the nerve to take the Lankans across the line with a ball to spare. de Silva (54*) and Nuthyangana (24*) put a match-winning partnership of 48* which sealed the game for the Asian side.
Earlier, New Zealand opted to bat first and lost Isabella Gaze (4) in the very first over. Georgia Plimmer (18) and skipper Amelia Kerr resurrected the innings with a 49-run stand before the former fell. Kerr scored 45 before holing out in the deep in the 13th over. Sri Lanka kept things tight, not allowing the White Ferns to get away. Devine played beautifully before holing out in the deep on 45 at the back end of the innings. Maddy Green remained unbeaten on 18 as New Zealand finished on 150/6.
It was a wonderful effort from the Lankan bowlers, with five of their six entering the wickets column. Kavisha Dilhari picked up two wickets, conceding 35 runs in her four overs. Nilakshi de Silva then played a scintillating knock in the chase and helped her side register its first win of T20 World Cup 2026.