Bengaluru/IBNS/UNI: New Zealand bowled out Sri Lanka for a mere 171 in the 41st match of ICC Mens Cricket World Cup 2023 here on Thursday.
Kusal Perera (51 off 28 balls) and Maheesh Theekshana (39 off 91 balls) were the top scorers for Sri Lanka, who are already out of the tournament.
Trent Boult (3/37 in 10 overs) grabbed the best bowling figures for New Zealand.
The stakes are higher for New Zealand who need a victory to significantly boost their hopes of securing a place in the knockout stages in the tournament.
New Zealand almost had one foot in the semifinals when starting their campaign with four consecutive triumphs, but have since lost as many on the trot to now be equal with Pakistan and Afghanistan on 8 points as each side has one group stage match left to play.
Kane Williamsons side enters the encounter with Sri Lanka sitting in the critical fourth spot due to holding an advantage of a superior net run rate compared to both of the other semi-final hopefuls.
But as the first of the trio to wrap up their group stage matches, the Black Caps will want to lift their net rate rate as high as possible and ideally out of reach of the chasers which will each start their remaining match knowing what they need to do to snatch fourth spot.
New Zealand can still hold out hope of progressing even if they lose to Sri Lanka, or if conditions force a no result to come into play, but will then be relying on both Pakistan and Afghanistan to end the group stage efforts without another win.
