Sri Lanka locked horns with New Zealand in an important Super 8 match of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. After winning the toss, Sri Lanka decided to bowl first. The home side made excellent use of familiar conditions. Their bowlers applied pressure on the New Zealand batters right from the beginning.

Sri Lanka’s disciplined bowling kept the Kiwi innings under control during the powerplay and middle overs. The breakthrough moment arrived when Dushmantha Chameera produced a stunning delivery. Bowling the 10th over, Chameera delivered a superfast ball clocked at 144.5 kph. The scrambled seam delivery landed perfectly around the off-stump line.

The ball suddenly jagged back into Glenn Phillips, catching him completely off guard. Phillips, who scored 18 runs from 18 balls, was stuck in his crease without proper foot movement. As he tried to play across the line, the ball passed through the gap between bat and pad. It smashed into the stumps, sending the Colombo crowd into loud celebrations.

New Zealand Recover After Early Trouble

But after losing Phillips and reaching 88/6, New Zealand were under immense pressure. However, their captain Mitchell Santner played a good knock of 47 runs off 26 balls. Cole McConchie also supported him well with an unbeaten 31 runs. This partnership took New Zealand to a good total of 168/7.

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𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐎𝐔𝐓. ⚡

Dushmantha Chameera hits top gear & blows past Phillips, #SL slam the brakes on the Kiwis! 🛑

ICC Men’s #T20WorldCup | SUPER 8, #SLvNZ ➡️ LIVE NOW 👉 https://t.co/g4wqt4U8vL pic.twitter.com/lLn3pcq5rZ

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 25, 2026

See Also: ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8, Match 48: IND vs ZIM, weather report, stadium stats and predicted playing XIs

For Sri Lanka, the bowlers who performed well were Dushmantha Chameera and Maheesh Theekshana. Both of them took three wickets each and played an important role in restricting the opposition. Chameera’s fiery delivery to dismiss Phillips remained the highlight of the innings and gave Sri Lanka important momentum in the match.

As of writing, Sri Lanka are struggling at 17/2 after 5.1 overs, needing 152 runs from 89 balls with New Zealand firmly in control of the chase.