Nelakshika Silva overcame her nerves with a stunning unbeaten half-century as Sri Lanka recorded a memorable five-wicket victory over defending champions New Zealand in Group 2 of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Tuesday.The win marked Sri Lanka’s first success of the tournament and gave their campaign a significant boost, while New Zealand’s title defense suffered another damaging blow after a second successive defeat.Sri Lanka chased down the target of 151 with just one ball to spare. Silva opened the innings with an unbeaten 54 and found an ideal partner in Kushani Nothiangana, whose 24 helped the pair put on an unbeaten sixth-wicket partnership of 48 to see their team home.Sri Lanka got off to a confident start thanks to skipper Chamari Athapatthu. After escaping an early chance when she was on seven, the left-hander struck back and scored 27 runs off just 19 deliveries. However, his dismissal at the end of the powerplay sparked a dramatic change in momentum.New Zealand immediately capitalized as Sri Lanka slumped from 45/1 to 55/4. Vashmi Gunaratne scored 17, Harshitha Samara Wickrama scored five, while Hussaini Perera scored two runs as the chase threatened to end.With the innings at a crossroads, Kavisha Dilhari and Silva produced a crucial revival. The pair added 50 valuable runs to stabilize the chase and rebuild Sri Lanka’s hopes. Dilhari scored 17 runs before being run out in the 15th over, leaving the onus to take Silva over the line.The left-hander responded brilliantly. Along with Nothiangana, he chased expertly during the closing stages. Sri Lanka needed 16 runs from the last two overs, but the duo collected 11 runs in the 19th over to bring the parity to just five off the last over. He then kept calm under pressure to seal victory with one delivery.Earlier New Zealand made 150/6 batting first. Their innings got off to a bad start when Isabella Guise was dismissed for four runs in the opening over.Georgia Palmer scored 18 runs before putting on a 49-run partnership with the skipper Amelia KerrWho once again led from the front. Kerr scored 45 and looked set for a big score before being caught in the deep during the 13th over.Sophie Devine then tried to raise the scoring rate and scored 45, while Maddie Green remained not out on 18. However, the Sri Lankan bowlers continued to apply pressure and prevented New Zealand from taking full advantage in the latter half of the innings.The Sri Lankan attack produced a disciplined collective display, with five bowlers between the wickets. Kavisha Dilhari was the standout performer, taking 2 for 35 from her four overs as she played a key role with both bat and ball.After restricting New Zealand to 150/6 and then successfully chasing down the target with a match-winning innings from Silva, Sri Lanka celebrated a historic victory that could prove crucial in their quest for a place in the knockout stages.Short Score:New Zealand 150/6 in 20 overs (Amelia Kerr 45, Sophie Devine 45; Kavisha Dilhari 2/35) lost to Sri Lanka 153/5 in 19.4 overs (Nelakshika Silva 54*, Chamari Athapathu 27; Nancy Patel 2/3).
