Sri Lanka had a difficult start to the Super 8 stage, losing by 51 runs to England. Chasing 147, they were dismissed for 95, with five wickets down inside the powerplay. Pathum Nissanka, who had 208 runs in five innings before this, made 9 off 8 balls, Kamil Mishara 6, and Kusal Mendis and Pavan Rathnayake also fell early. Captain Dasun Shanaka’s 30 off 24 was the main resistance.
The bowlers had restricted England to 146 for 9. Dunith Wellalage took 3 for 26 to reach seven tournament wickets, Maheesh Theekshana claimed 2 for 21 and leads the side with eight, and Dilshan Madushanka, replacing the injured Matheesha Pathirana, took 2 for 25.
New Zealand, meanwhile, had their first Super 8 game against Pakistan washed out in Colombo and shared a point. They reached this stage as runners-up in Group D behind South Africa with three wins in four. Tim Seifert has 173 runs at a strike rate of nearly 168 and Finn Allen 137 at close to 178, while Glenn Phillips has made 119 in three innings at over 185.
Mark Chapman, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell have added depth. In the attack, Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry have four wickets each and Jacob Duffy three, while captain Mitchell Santner has just one wicket in three games and is looking for rhythm.
