New Zealand, the defending ICC Women’s T20 World Cup champions, have been below par in the ongoing edition of the global tournament. After losing to the West Indies in their campaign opener, New Zealand went down to Sri Lanka in their second contest. The sub-continent team secured a five-wicket win in a chase of 151. NZ captain Amelia Kerr won the toss and elected to bat first, a decision that backfired as her team was restricted to 150 for 6.

Sri Lanka were in all sorts of trouble, having lost 4 wickets for 55 runs. Nilakshika Silva was her team’s saviour, scoring an unbeaten 54 runs off 37 balls. She hit 5 fours and 1 six, and her runs came at a strike rate of 145.94. She was supported by Kavisha Dilhari (17 off) and Kaushini Nuthyangana (24* off 14).

For New Zealand, Nensi Patel took two wickets.

It was Sri Lanka’s first win of the season. England thumped them in their first match. Meanwhile, NZ are in danger of getting eliminated, having conceded two games in a row.

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