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Sri Lanka vs New Zealand T20 Cricket World Cup Super 8 Predictions - Phillips to end Sri Lanka’s World Cup dreams

Simon Lewis

Editor

Last updated: 23 Feb 2026

Simon Lewis 23 Feb 2026

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Glenn Phillips hit six sixes in his 36-ball 76* against Canada.
Pathum Nissanka scored 100* in the win over Australia off just 52 balls.
Can New Zealand claim a fourth win in five T20Is to beat Sri Lanka?

Expired

Glenn Phillips hits over the top against South Africa (Getty Images).

Sri Lanka vs New Zealand Predictions

Sri Lanka are having a wobble after losing first to Zimbabwe and now England. New Zealand are looking strong in the tournament, aside from their seven-wicket loss to South Africa, so I’m backing the Kiwis to hand Sri Lanka a third straight defeat.

Sri Lanka vs New Zealand Predictions
Head-to-Head
Sri Lanka Form
New Zealand Form
Sri Lanka vs New Zealand Team News & Squads

New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips has scored 48, 24, 40, 42 & 76* in his last 7 innings.
New Zealand’s Tim Seifert has scored 66, 65 & 89* in his last 5 innings.
Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka has scored 24, 100* and 62 in his last 5 innings.
Sri Lanka’s Dasun Shanaka has scored 50 & 30 in his last 3 innings

Head-to-Head

New Zealand have won three and lost two of their last five T20Is against Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka Form

After a strong start to the tournament, Sri Lanka will be having doubts about their prospects after losing back-to-back matches against Zimbabwe and England.

Sri Lanka put the squeeze on England, restricting them to 146/9 off their 20 overs. Dunith Wellalage was the star of the show, snapping up both England openers (including top-scorer Phil Salt) to return figures of 3/26.

Maheesh Theekshana took 2/21 on the back of some top performances, including 3/23 and 2/11 in his last five matches. Dilshan Madushanka also picked up two wickets towards the tail of the innings.

Sri Lanka struggled to find their feet as England ripped through their top order, reducing them to 34/5 after 5.5 overs. Kamindu Mendis scored 13 off 11, but skipper Dasun Shanaka (30 off 24) was the only batter to pass 13 as Sri Lanka folded for 95 off 16.4 overs.

New Zealand Form

New Zealand beat Canada by eight wickets to claim second spot in Group D to earn their spot in the Super 8s. Their opening match was against Pakistan, but rain ruined the contest, with the match being abandoned without a ball bowled.

Four New Zealanders shared Canada’s four wickets to fall as they posted 173/4 off their 20 overs. Matt Henry (1/28, econ 7.00) and Jacob Duffy (1/25, econ 6.25) proved the most economical of the Kiwi attack.

After losing both of their openers cheaply, Rachin Ravindra (59* off 39) and Glenn Phillips (76* off 36) shared a 146-run stand for the third wicket to take New Zealand to the win with almost five overs in hand.

Sri Lanka vs New Zealand Team News & Squads

Speaking in the post–match interview after his side had lost their opening match in the Super 8s, Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka expressed his disappointment with his team’s performance.

"We kept them to a score 20 runs under par and I expected my players to bat well. The pitch played well but was a bit slow. With the lights on it settled, but we batted badly. It's not that they bowled really well, we played some rash shots at critical intervals. The top four has done well in the recent past so I'm sure they will do will in upcoming games," said Shanaka.

New Zealand skipper Daryl Mitchell commented on his side’s strong squad during the post-match interviews after their win over Canada in their last match in the group stages.

"We bat really deep, and everyone can get the job done on the day. We back everyone in the side," said Mitchell.

Sri Lanka (possible XI): Dasun Shanaka (c), Kusal Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Pathum Nissanka, Pavan Rathnayake, Dushan Hemantha, Kamindu Mendis, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage.

New Zealand (possible XI): Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (w), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), James Neesham, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy.

Verdict

Sri Lanka v New Zealand

I am backing New Zealand to win. I am also backing Glenn Phillips to top score for New Zealand.

Pathum Nissanka is a good bet to top score for Sri Lanka.

New Zealand Runs

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Simon is a talented sports writer in South Africa with a strong focus on cricket having played first-team level for UCT, including playing at two Universities Weeks.

From a young age Simon was an avid reader of cricket magazines and books, and went on to be Editor of The Googly, CricketScene SA and SA Cricket, in addition to being a Features Writer on SA Sports Illustrated.

He has interviewed most of South Africa's premier cricketers and was the first writer to interview a teenaged Jacques Kallis.

Simon has also written about English and local football, rugby and cricket, in addition to major international tennis and golf stars and competitions.

You can follow more from Simon at Muckrack, X and LinkedIn.