England continue winning run, Sri Lanka stun New Zealand

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The ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 returned after a one-day break with two crucial games taking place on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka registered a five-wicket win over defending champions New Zealand in the first match in Southampton.

In the next game, England got the better of Ireland.

England v Ireland

Scorecard

England continued their winning run at the Women's T20 World Cup, as they registered a four-wicket win over Ireland in a rain-delayed match on Tuesday.

With Sophie Ecclestone spearheading the bowling attack, England restricted Ireland to 118/9. In reply, captain Nat-Sciver Brunt led from the front as England chased down the target in 17.3 overs.

It was always going to be a tough task for Ireland, the youngest side at the World Cup with an average age of 23, against an experinced English team reveling at the prospect of playing at home.

Opting to field first, the English bowlers made the most of overcast conditions to make early inroads. Both the Irish openers, Amy Hunter and Alana Dalzell, were back in the pavilion inside the first five overs.

Captain Gaby Lewis also departed without troubling the scorers.

Bowling a tight line and length, England kept the pressure on Ireland by choking the runs. They bowled a total of 60 dot balls, with Charlie Dean contributing 20 of them.

Dean was the most economical of the English bowlers, with 2/11 in her four overs, while the experienced Sophie Ecclestone finished with 3/22.

For Ireland, there were spells of sunshine that broke through the gloom. Even with her team reduced to 25/3, Orla Prendergast took the attack to England. She struck two fours off Ecclestone, starting with a late cut past backward point, in the sixth over to give them a boost.

The budding innings, however, was cut short for 26 off 18, with four fours.

Later on, Louise Little made sure Ireland finished on a high. She hit four fours of Lauren Bell in the final over, including a flick through backward square leg on the last ball, to garner 17 runs. It was Ireland's best over of the innings and took them to 118/9.

On resumption, Ireland gave England a scare early on as they claimed three wickets in 10 balls to reduce the hosts to 35/3 inside powerplay.

Aimee Maguire made early inroads with two wickets in the fifth over. The first of which was of Amy Jones, who mistimed the ball to mid-off only for Lewis to pocket it. Two balls later, the Maguire-Lewis combo struck again to dismiss Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who had led England to victory in the tournament opener against Sri Lanka.

In the next over, Prendergast castled Alice Capsey with a yorker.

Captain Sciver-Brunt (48) and Heather Knight stemmed the slide with a 64-run stand for the fourth wicket. They picked up the ones and twos, while punishing every loose ball, to keep the scoreboard ticking.

The partnership was broken by Prendergast as she trapped Knight leg before wicket for 26.

England had trouble closing out the match as Sciver-Brunt retired hurt just short of her half-century while Freya Kemp was run out. But they were within touching distance, and Dean and Gibson saw them through to 119/6 in 17.3 overs.

New Zealand v Sri Lanka

Scorecard

Sri Lanka caused a stir in Southampton on Tuesday as they defeated New Zealand by five wickets in a final-over thriller. It is their first win over the White Ferns in Women's T20 World Cup.

An unbeaten half-century from Nilakshika Silva helped the Lankans recover from a mid-innings wobble and chase down a target of 151 in 19.4 overs.

For defending champions New Zealand, this was the second straight loss after they opened the Women's T20 World Cup 2026 with a seven-wicket defeat to West Indies.

On winning the toss, New Zealand captain Melie Kerr elected to bat. Though they lost Isabella Gaze early, Kerr led them to recovery with two important partnerships. 

She put on 49 runs for the second wicket with Georgia Plimmer, and then stitched a 43-run stand with stalwart Sophie Devine. The experienced duo of Kerr and Devine shifted gears near the mid-way mark, scoring 23 runs in the 10th and 11th over to give the innings a much-needed boost.

It was a disciplined performance from Sri Lanka with the ball and in the field. A superb running catch from Kawya Kavindi, off the bowling of Kavisha Dilhari, cut Kerr's innings short to 45 (36b, 5x4).

Meanwhile, Devine stamped her class yet again with 45 off 30. She struck four fours and the only six of the New Zealand innings. A quickfire 18 by Maddy Green helped the White Ferns to a competitive total of 150/6.

While five of the six Sri Lankan bowlers claimed wickets, Dilhari was the most successful with 2/35 from her four overs.

In reply, Sri Lanka started slow and steady. They stepped on the gas in the last two overs of powerplay, garnering 29 runs. Captain Chamari Athapaththu led the early charge with a six over point.

However, the Lankans lost their talismanic skipper while trying to accelerate. Bree Illing castled Athapaththu for 27 to trigger a top-order collapse, as Sri Lanka slipped from 45/1 to 55/4.

Fielding had let New Zealand down in their first match against the West Indies. Even though they were tidier against Sri Lanka, especially with Georgia Plimmer overcoming nerves to hold on to a catch to dismiss Vishmi Gunarathne and Melie Kerr nailing a direct hit to run out Hasini Perera, their fielding was found wanting once the pressure started mounting.

When Nilakshika Silva walked onto the field, Sri Lanka had just lost four wickets for 10 runs and the defending champions were on the ascendancy.

However, Silva and Dilhari dug their heels in and put on 50 runs for the fifth to haul the Lankans back on track. They kept pace with New Zealand without taking too many risks.

Even after Dilhari was run out, Sri Lanka did not let panic set in. Silva and Kaushini Nuthyangana guided their team through the tough phase and past the finish line. It was only the second T20I half-century for Silva, who struck five fours and one six for 54 off 37 balls.

Nuthyangana's support at the end was vital and the wicketkeeper-batter contributed with an unbeaten 24 as Sri Lanka finished on 153/5 in 19.4 overs.