New Zealand moved into prime position to grab the last World Cup semifinal spot with a comfortable five-wicket win over Sri Lanka at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on November 9.
The Kiwis (10 points) moved to sole fourth on the table, two points ahead of Pakistan and Afghanistan. New Zealand — backed by a superior net run rate — is sitting pretty in this three-team sprint. The victory was made possible primarily by a sub-standard batting show by Sri Lanka — bundled out for 171. New Zealand finished the chase in only 23.2 overs.
Devon Conway (45, 42b, 9x4) and Rachin Ravindra (42, 34b, 3x4, 3x6) put the Kiwis on the right track with an 86-run opening partnership. Ravindra overtook Quinton de Kock (550 runs from eight innings) to become the tournament’s highest run-scorer with 565 runs from nine innings.
