Nilakshika Silva’s unbeaten 54 stuns New Zealand and leaves the champions on the brink
Sri Lanka chased down 151 with two balls to spare in Southampton, Nilakshika Silva’s 54 not out condemning the defending champions to a second straight defeat and the edge of elimination.
Jun 16, 2026
The defending champions are in trouble. New Zealand lost their second game in a row at the Women’s T20 World Cup on Tuesday, beaten by five wickets by a Sri Lanka side that had been thrashed in its opener, and the result leaves the holders staring at an early exit barely a week into the tournament. Nilakshika Silva’s unbeaten 54 saw Sri Lanka home with two balls to spare at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, chasing down 151 after their top order had threatened to throw the game away.
New Zealand stall after a steady start
Put in to bat, New Zealand built a platform without ever breaking free. Amelia Kerr, captaining the side, made 45 from 36 balls and Sophie Devine matched her with 45 from 30, the pair carrying the innings through the middle overs. But wickets at regular intervals stopped the acceleration New Zealand needed, and once Devine holed out in the 18th over the lower order could not push the total past 150 for 6. Maddy Green finished unbeaten on 18. For Sri Lanka, Kavisha Dilhari was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 35, and no New Zealand batter went on to the big score that a total like this needed.
A first-innings 150 felt about par on a used surface, and New Zealand will feel they were 15 or 20 light. Against a Sri Lanka attack that mixed its pace well and gave little away at the death, the White Ferns ran out of road.
Sri Lanka wobble, then Silva holds firm
The chase began in a blur. Chamari Athapaththu raced to 27 from 19 balls and Sri Lanka reached 45 inside the powerplay, looking like they would settle it early. Then it almost fell apart. Bree Illing bowled Athapaththu, Nensi Patel struck twice on her way to 2 for 23, and Hasini Perera was run out, four wickets tumbling for the addition of just 10 runs. At 55 for 4 the game had swung back to New Zealand.
Silva refused to let it slip. She added a composed stand with Dilhari to steady things, and when Dilhari was run out for 17 with the score on 105, the wicketkeeper Kaushini Nuthyangana walked in and counter-attacked for 24 not out from 14 balls. The pair put on an unbroken 48 to finish the job, Silva bringing up her fifty and being named player of the match for a knock that held a jittery chase together.
What it means for the holders
Two games, two defeats. New Zealand began their title defence by losing a last-over thriller to West Indies, and this loss to a side beaten by 87 runs by England leaves them almost certainly needing to win their remaining group matches and hope results go their way. For Sophie Devine, playing what she has said will be her last World Cup, it is a cruel way for the campaign to be unravelling.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have life. Their first points of the tournament come at the expense of the champions, and after the chastening defeat to England this was the kind of result that can turn a group on its head. Silva and Athapaththu have given them something to build on, and Group 2 has suddenly become a lot more open.