Led by the admirable Trent Boult and the impressive Mitchell Santner, New Zealand kept up their end of the bargain at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Thursday. Sitting on a four-match losing streak that threatened to scupper their World Cup semi-final chances, Kane Williamson’s men faced a must-win scenario against a dispirited SL and came through with flying colours. Not only did they secure a commanding five-wicket victory, they also boosted their net run-rate by hunting down 172 in just 23.2 overs, thereby pushing closest contenders Pakistan to a corner.

Pakistan face a Herculean task in their last league tie against England on Saturday in Kolkata, which they must win by a handsome margin to sneak ahead of the Kiwis on NRR. Kusal Mendis called wrong at the toss, which allowed NZ to dictate play. With the threat of rain—which thankfully stayed away—looming large, Williamson opted to chase, triggering a bizarre period of play when SL blazed a stunning trail through Kusal Perera, but kept losing wickets at an alarming rate.