At the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, New Zealand are on the brink of reaching the semi-finals, while co-host Sri Lanka is reflecting on the mistakes that affected their campaign. New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra said that the team’s confidence is steadily growing and they remain optimistic about securing a place in the knockout stage. Interest among fans has also surged at this crucial stage of the tournament, with Tiger Exchange 365 gaining attention as the competition approaches its decisive phase.
New Zealand’s dominant display powers big win | Match Highlights | T20WC 2026
New Zealand rise to the occasion in Colombo and beat Sri Lanka by 61 runs to keep their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final hopes alive.New Zealand can confirm their place in the knockout stage with a win in their final Super Eight contest against England. While a loss may also prove enough depending on how Pakistan perform in their own fixture against Sri Lanka.
It was Ravindra who starred for New Zealand in their victory over Sri Lanka with a four-wicket haul and a quickfire 32 with the bat and the impressive all-rounder thinks his side is getting better with every showing at the T20 World Cup.
Rachin’s magical spell claims four | POTM Highlights | T20WC 2026
New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra produced a superb spell of 4/27 with the ball and useful runs with the bat against Sri Lanka at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
Ravindra knows the threat that England will pose in their remaining Super Eights fixture and will not be taking anything for granted in the contest that may decide New Zealand’s fate at the tournament.
“I mean you’re always confident going into these fixtures, especially when we know what the surface is going to be like, but I think it’d be silly to underestimate England at any point,” Ravindra said after the victory over Sri Lanka.
“They’re obviously such a quality unit, and they’ve shown this in bowling, and how well they’ve been bowling. I mean, they’ve got world class batters throughout their order. So it’s nothing necessarily like that.
“Obviously, we’ll take confidence from today and move on, but realise in two days’ time it’s a different challenge and hopefully we can be up for it.”
New Zealand shut door on Sri Lanka | ICC Review | T20 World Cup 2026
New Zealand kept their T20 World Cup semi-final hopes alive with a thumping win over Sri Lanka in Colombo. ICC Digital Insider Crystal Arnold and former Kiwi star Simon Doull review the game.
While confidence levels are high in the New Zealand camp, it is quite the opposite for Sri Lanka who were knocked out of contention at the T20 World Cup following a third consecutive loss at the event.
It leaves the tournament co-hosts without any points in the Super Eights and Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka was quick to point the finger at the additional pressure the side had received when playing matches on home soil.
“A lot of times what we see and hear are negative things,” Shanaka said.
“No matter how we as cricketers try to stay positive, there is negativity outside. That’s a big loss for Sri Lankan cricket. This is the only sport we have, and I don’t know if we’ll be able to protect it. If you look outside the stadium you’ll see how many people are standing outside with mics, and people will say stuff without having watched the match.
“Why spread this negativity? Yes, we lost a World Cup, and we know the reasons. Everyone has concerns. More than talking about that and correcting it, the negativity has come to the fore.
“We will play and leave, but if for the players who will come in the future. If the government can even stop it (the negativity) that’s better for their mental health.