Sri Lanka stun champions New Zealand in Southampton thriller

An outstanding unbeaten half-century from Nilakshika Silva guided Sri Lanka Women to a historic five-wicket victory over New Zealand Women with two balls to spare in their ICC Women's T20 World Cup group match in Southampton, England.

Chasing a target of 151, Sri Lanka recovered from a precarious position of 55 for 4 thanks to two brilliant partnerships anchored by Silva, who scored a perfectly-paced 54 not out off 37 deliveries.

She first shared a crucial 50-run stand with Kavisha Dilhari to steady the innings before partnering with wicketkeeper-batter Kaushini Nuthyangana, who smashed a nerveless 24 not out off just 14 balls.

The duo added an unbeaten 48 runs off 28 balls, with Nuthyangana hitting the winning boundary in the final over to secure the points for Sri Lanka following their opening defeat to England.

New Zealand suffered from poor fielding, including a dropped catch in the 10th over when Silva was on 1, alongside lapses in ground fielding during the closing stages of the match.

Earlier, tight bowling from the Sri Lankan spinners restricted New Zealand to 150 for 6 on a slightly slow Southampton surface, despite identical top scores of 45 from Sophie Devine and Melie Kerr.

Nuthyangana also excelled behind the stumps, claiming three catches to back up a disciplined bowling performance where Dilhari took 2 for 35, while Nensi Patel finished as the best bowler for New Zealand with figures of 2 for 23.