Nilakshika Silva held her nerve with a superb unbeaten half-century as Sri Lanka pulled off 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 significantly boosted their campaign, while New Zealand’s title defence suffered another damaging setback after a second successive defeat.Set a target of 151, Sri Lanka completed the chase with just one ball remaining. Silva anchored the innings brilliantly with an unbeaten 54 and found an ideal partner in Kaushani Nuthyangana, whose composed 24 helped the pair add an unbroken 48-run stand for the sixth wicket to guide their side home.Sri Lanka made a confident start thanks to captain Chamari Athapaththu. After surviving an early chance when she was on seven, the left-hander counterattacked and struck 27 from only 19 deliveries. However, her dismissal at the end of the Powerplay triggered a dramatic shift in momentum.New Zealand capitalised immediately as Sri Lanka slipped from 45/1 to 55/4. Vishmi Gunaratne managed 17, Harshitha Samarawickrama contributed five, while Hasini Perera departed for two as the chase threatened to unravel.With the innings at a crossroads, Kavisha Dilhari and Silva produced a crucial recovery. The pair added 50 valuable runs to steady the chase and rebuild Sri Lanka’s hopes. Dilhari chipped in with 17 before being run out in the 15th over, leaving Silva with the responsibility of taking the side over the line.The left-hander responded brilliantly. Alongside Nuthyangana, she paced the chase expertly during the closing stages. Sri Lanka required 16 from the final two overs, but the duo collected 11 runs in the 19th over to reduce the equation to just five from the last over. They then remained calm under pressure to seal victory with one delivery to spare.Earlier, New Zealand posted 150/6 after electing to bat first. Their innings got off to a poor start when Isabella Gaze was dismissed for four in the opening over.Georgia Plimmer scored 18 before sharing a 49-run partnership with captain Amelia Kerr, who once again led from the front. Kerr struck 45 and looked set for a bigger score before being caught in the deep during the 13th over.Sophie Devine then attempted to lift the scoring rate and contributed a well-made 45, while Maddy Green remained unbeaten on 18. However, Sri Lanka’s bowlers consistently applied pressure and prevented New Zealand from fully capitalising during the latter half of the innings.The Sri Lankan attack delivered a disciplined collective display, with five bowlers among the wickets. Kavisha Dilhari was the standout performer, finishing with figures of 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 through Silva’s match-winning knock, Sri Lanka celebrated a landmark victory that could prove pivotal in their quest for a place in the knockout stages.Brief Scores: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 (Nilakshika Silva 54* , Chamari Athapaththu 27; Nensi Patel 2/23) by five wickets.
