New Zealand Women vs Sri Lanka Women, 7th Match, Group B, ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 - CommentaryNZW vs SLW, 7th Match, Group B, ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 - Commentary

It is a historic day for Sri Lankan women's cricket. Coming into this game, they had lost all seven of their previous Women's T20 World Cup meetings against New Zealand. Today, they finally broke that streak. The victory not only keeps Sri Lanka alive in the tournament but also gives them plenty of confidence going forward. For New Zealand, it was once again their fielding that proved costly. Against West Indies, Shemaine Campbelle was dropped on 26 and went on to make an unbeaten 90. Today, Nilakshika was put down on 1 and made them pay with a match-winning knock. New Zealand are not out of the tournament yet, but with two defeats from two games, they will need results elsewhere to go their way while taking care of their own business. That's it from this game. We have another one coming up - England versus Ireland. There was rain around at the Hampshire Bowl earlier and the covers were in place, so keep an eye on the weather updates. Switch tabs for all the action. Until next time, goodbye and stay safe..

Chamari Athapaththu | Sri Lanka captain: (Where does that victory rate for you and your team?) Actually it is a good win. I feel it's a must win for us because otherwise we don't have a chance. So as a team, as a batting unit, we execute our plans and Nilakshika played really good cricket today. And the young coach, Kaushani, she's not in her best form, but today she's done a really good job with Nilakshika. (Was that part of the plan to close things in in the field?) Yeah, definitely. As a fielding unit, especially thanks to the fielding coach, he's done a really good job for us the last six months because we struggled a lot in the fielding. But in today's game, we improved a lot, so we cut off a lot of runs. And as a fielding unit, we did a really good job. (What does that do for your confidence for the next game?) Yeah, every game is very crucial for us. I know New Zealand is one of the best teams in this competition and they are the world champions. So, and the tournament favourites. So we beat New Zealand. It doesn't mean we can't beat any team in this comp. So we have to execute our right plan, right time. That's the most important thing. So as a team, we need to improve a couple of areas, especially batting. We lost a couple of wickets in the middle. And yeah, we need to improve our batting and a little bit bowling as well.

Amelia Kerr | New Zealand captain: (How do you sum up the batting performance?) Yeah, I thought the wicket was a touch slower, and because of the nature of their bowling attack with those low arms probably made a little bit tougher. But I thought 150 was a good score on this wicket, especially with the boundaries being pretty big. I think we had enough runs. we could have gotten more and would have liked more, but today again it was the fielding that let us down. (What was the difference between the two teams other than your fielding?) I thought they ran really well between the wickets. They were quick there at the end, running twos. That partnership at the end finishing the innings. For us, if I could have batted a couple more overs with Sophie [Devine] to build an even bigger platform before getting out, it would have helped. (What are the plans for the rest of the tournament?) Still three games to go for us, and three games for country that are really important. We are still in this comp. We have to pick ourselves up. The biggest improvement for me is the fielding. I actually think we're in a good place as a side - we’re batting well, bowling in good areas, and creating opportunities. But yeah catches win matches. No one means to drop them, but that's two games in a row we haven't been up to a high enough standard.

Nilakshika Silva | Player of the Match: (She loves batting against New Zealand, scored a fifty in the ODI World Cup as well) That day also I played really well, in the 50-over World Cup, today also I played my normal game. When I came to the middle there was pressure, played really well and the non-striker (Kavisha) also. (Conversation with Kaushani) [We spoke] about rotating strike.

Kaushani started celebrating the moment the ball pierced the gap. A roar followed, then an emphatic "come on" as she sprinted down the pitch before throwing herself into a bear hug with Nilakshika. The Sri Lankan dugout erupted instantly - players jumping around, embracing each other, exchanging high-fives as the magnitude of the moment began to sink in. Amidst the chaos and jubilation stood Chamari Athapaththu. Having seen it all over the years, the captain remained calm and composed, gathering her players and leading them out for the handshakes. It's a famous win for Sri Lanka, one that breathes life into their campaign and throws Group B wide open. The camera then cut to Amelia Kerr. The disappointment was written all over her face. This is her first major tournament as captain and after back-to-back defeats, New Zealand's title defence is suddenly hanging by a thread.

50+ scores for SL-W in T20 WCs
3 - Chamari Athapaththu
1 - Harshitha Samarawickrama
1 - Nilakshika Silva*

54* by Nilakshika Silva is only the second 50+ score by a batter in Women’s T20 WCs while batting at No.6 or below after 112* by Deandra Dottin against SA-W at Basseterre in 2010.

Nilakshika Silva (36y 262d) is the oldest player to score 50+ in T20 WCs, surpassing Charlotte Edwards (36y 101d) against PAK-W at Chennai in 2016.

This is the first win for SL-W in T20 WCs after seven successive defeats since 2023.

This is also the first win for SL-W against NZ-W in T20 WCs after losing all seven previous games.

17:45 Local Time, 16:45 GMT, 22:15 IST: Sri Lanka have beaten New Zealand for the first time in World Cups. It was a superb chase by the Lankans, who held their nerve to prevail in a thriller. They started their chase well, putting on 45 for the opening wicket, but they lost their way in the middle by losing wickets in a hurry. Kavisha and Nilakshika stitched an important partnership which brought them back into the game. Ultimately, it was Nilakshika, along with excellent support from wicket-keeper Kaushani, who held her nerve to take Sri Lanka to a thrilling win. New Zealand were very ordinary in the field, dropping catches - bringing their total to eight dropped catches in the tournament so far - and their ground fielding was below par. The bowlers also failed to bowl in the right areas and conceded boundaries on a regular basis. The White Ferns are now on the verge of bowing out of the tournament after losing two games in a row. Conversely, this win will give Sri Lanka some much-needed confidence going forward in the tournament.

A short mid off in place now

Change in the field, the square leg has come inside the circle

This one has come down to wire, 5 needed off the last over. Devine is going to bowl it. She pulled off a couple of heists in the WPL at the start of the year. Can she do it for New Zealand?