New Zealand on Saturday secured another impressive win in the 2022 World T20, further cementing their position in Group 1 of the Super 12 stage on points and net run rate. The New Zealand bowlers ended the game in the powerplay itself after Glen Philip’s brilliant century in Sydney. Trent Boult and Tim Southee’s expertise saw New Zealand reduce Sri Lanka to five for just 24 runs in 6.1 overs. It was only a matter of time before Sri Lanka collapsed after an early onslaught and eventually folded for just 102 runs.
With the big win, New Zealand moved closer to the semi-finals with five points from three games, before causing trouble for England and Australia. New Zealand will next face England at the Gabba on November 1 and Ireland at Adelaide Oval on November 4 in their final two group games. If they get another win, the Kane Williamson-led side will reach their second consecutive World T20 semi-final.
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The battle has now come down to second place between the three possible teams – England, Ireland and Australia – each of whom have the same points tally from three games, with Jos Buttler’s side having a slightly better NRR (+0.239) .
The match that could decide the fate of Group 1 will be between England and New Zealand. If Buttler’s men can come out on top in a must-win clash, they will have the advantage of finishing high in the NRR when they face Sri Lanka in the final match. For Australia, they need to win both matches – against the bottom two teams in the group, Ireland and Afghanistan – but by a big margin to negate England’s advantage.