Sri Lanka crippled New Zealand's title defense at the Women's Twenty20 World Cup with a comeback victory on Tuesday (June 16, 2026).

Sri Lanka beat New Zealand for the first time in a World Cup after Nilakshika Silva and Kaushini Nuthyangana combined for an unbeaten 48 runs off 28 balls to reach the 151 target with two balls remaining at the Rose Bowl.

New Zealand has lost its first two group matches. Only one team in tournament history has advanced to the semifinals with two defeats — South Africa at home in 2023.

New Zealand was tainted again by dropped catches; six in the opening loss to the West Indies and three more against Sri Lanka, two of them key.

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu was put down on 6 and made 27 to start their charge in the powerplay, and Silva was dropped on 1 and made 54 not out.

Sri Lanka ended up 153-5 in reply to New Zealand's 150-6.

“New Zealand is one of the best teams and the world champions, and the tournament favorites,” Athapaththu said. “We beat them and it means we can beat anyone in the comp, we just need to execute our plans.”

An unchanged New Zealand from the West Indies loss on Saturday chose to bat first on the same pitch but only captain Melie Kerr and Sophie Devine got going with 45s.

The two were battering Sri Lanka together until Kerr was caught on the boundary. Devine gave New Zealand hope but she was caught on the boundary, too, in the 18th over, and the Kiwis collected only 11 runs off the last two overs.

New Zealand had already dropped two catches in Sri Lanka's chase when Georgia Plimmer took a brilliant grab running in from long-on. The ball slipped between her hands but she trapped it with her knees during a run of four Sri Lanka wickets in four overs.

It should have been five in five but Silva turned her life on 1 into a player-of-the-match performance.

When Kavisha Dilhara ran herself out at 105-5 in the 15th, Sri Lanka appeared to be on the ropes. But Silva's second T20 fifty in 13 years and Nuthyangana's career-best 24 rushed Sri Lanka to the win after its opening hiding from England.