After a decisive five-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in Bangalore, New Zealand is in an excellent position to advance to the Cricket World Cup semifinals. The Black Caps ended their group stage campaign with 10 points from 9 games after a simple victory that ended a four-match losing streak.
They bowled Sri Lanka out for 171 and then chased down their target with 160 balls to spare, greatly improving their net run rate. We’re back with more Cricket World Cup news here at TopCricketBetting. At this point, you shouldn’t be missing the best online cricket betting sites in India thanks to our cricket content curation, news, odds, and more.
Quick Recap: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka
New Zealand sit fourth in the league and while they are likely to be overtaken with 10 points by Afghanistan and Pakistan, both sides will require surprising huge wins to overturn the Kiwi’s run-rate of +0.743.
Afghanistan, whose present net run-rate of -0.338 implies they are very probably eradicated, go against South Africa in Ahmedabad on Friday before Pakistan face England in Kolkata a day later.
India, who has yet to lose in the tournament, will play the fourth-place team in the first semi-final next Wednesday. The other semi-final, between South Africa and Australia, will take place the following day, and the championship game will be played on Sunday, November 19.
If India makes it to the semifinals, they will face New Zealand, who features the Black Caps’ top batsman, Rachin Ravindra, who after scoring 42 against Sri Lanka has amassed 565 runs in nine innings and is the tournament’s highest scorer.
New Zealand Finally Breaking Loss Streak
Starting the tournament with four straight wins over England, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, New Zealand eventually lost to India, Australia, South Africa, and Pakistan, the latter loss occurring due to weather.
However, Kane Williamson’s team was in fine form against Sri Lanka, dismissing them in 46.4 overs with the efforts of Boult (who took three wickets), Lockie Ferguson (two), Ravindra (two), and Mitchell Santner (two).
After 32.1 overs, Sri Lanka was 128-9, but a stand of 43 runs between Maheesh Theekshana and Dllshan Madushanka frustrated New Zealand. After Williamson decided to bowl, Tim Southee took out Pathum Nissanka in the second over and Boult took out Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama in the fifth.
What’s Next For Sri Lanka
For Sri Lanka, Kusal Perera smashed a 22-ball fifty, and Angelo Mathews hit 16 when he sped to the crease after being controversially dismissed by a timed-out decision against Bangladesh on Monday.
The opening pair of Devon Conway and Ravindra scored 86 runs off of 74 balls to set the chase in motion for New Zealand. Daryl Mitchell, who was responsible for running out Mark Chapman, also made a contribution, and Glenn Phillips finished off the game two balls into the 24th over with consecutive fours off Madushanka.
Sri Lanka is now ranked ninth after suffering their seventh loss in nine games; in order to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy, they will require help from other teams to finish in the top eight on net run-rate.
Player of the Match: Trent Boult
Trent Boult, a speed bowler for New Zealand, was named “Player of the Match” when he took 3/37 in 10 overs. Sri Lankan hitters are holding their footing as the current run rate slips to 4 runs per over. The bowler has done well enough today to forgive Trent Boult for a dropped catch in his previous over.
A few overs later, Kusal Mendis also departed while aiming to smash over midwicket, slicing a leading edge to deep third, and shortly after, Sadeera Samarawickrama edged through to Mitchell at first slip. Boult, who had been outstanding all game, picked up both of them to increase his World Cup wicket total to 52.
Score: New Zealand v Sri Lanka
| New Zealand | 172/5 | 23.2 overs |
| Sri Lanka | 171 | 46.4 overs |
| New Zealand won by 5 wickets | ||
With Daryl Mitchell out in play, Glenn Phillips leads and scores straight boundaries on the first and second ball. By this score and with 160 balls remaining, New Zealand has defeated Sri Lanka by 5 wickets and moved closer to securing a spot in the semi-finals.
Afghanistan play South Africa in Ahmedabad on Friday needing an incredible win to have any hope of vaulting New Zealand and going into fourth position. Get all your Cricket World Cup news with TopCricketBetting – discover the best online cricket betting sites India, the best cricket odds, and all things cricket here!