Kiwis renew confidence before vital T20 World Cup clash

The Kiwis have put their early tournament loss down to it being 'one of those nights' as they look to bounce back swiftly at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in England and Wales.

The reigning title holders will look to get their defence back on track when they meet Sri Lanka in Southampton today.

New Zealand had six dropped catches and two missed stumping opportunities, in a match that went down to the wire; the West Indies completed their chase of 163 with just a ball to spare.

Speaking ahead of the White Ferns' clash with Sri Lanka, opener and keeper Isabella Gaze provided a candid review of her side's effort in the field.

"I think we all know that that was not our standard in the field," Gaze told media.

"We've trusted our skill in the past and we know it's not a lack of skill or a lack of effort, it's just one of those nights. And cricket can be tough like that. You can really underperform one night and the next game can be a blinder in the field. So yeah, we know we've got to move on from that. And yeah, we're really confident going into the next game."

Scorecard: West Indies v New Zealand

Only four teams will progress to the knockout stages, two from each pool of six; New Zealand can ill afford another slip up. Their group is on high alert.

"We've got four more games to go and if we win all those, we've got a great shot at the semis," Gaze continued.

"So (the loss) is one you got to park it and move on.

"(Sri Lanka) have got some quality bowlers, so we've really had a focus in the nets today with a few actions and how we can attack their bowling attack.

"We've got to, get up for the occasion."

The Kiwis aren't the only team who will be playing with urgency. Sri Lanka also enter the T20 World Cup clash coming off a defeat, going down to hosts England by 87 runs in the tournament opener.

Also speaking to media ahead of their clash, top order batter Vishmi Gunarathne predicts swpeeing improvements across all key disciplines for Sir Lanka.

"T20 game is a very fast game, none of our three departments did well in the last match," Gunarathne said.

"I think in the death overs, the execution wasn’t working well. Bowlers worked with the coaches about that; they discussed their plans to make it right from match to match. I think they will give us a good execution for us."

"Of course England was a tough game. That's the nature of a T20 World Cup. We worked on that the other day and we are going to give a good fight."

"As an opener, I should adjust to the wickets and I should have some patience in the England wickets. And then I can go aggressively and give a good start for my team."

Scorecard: England v Sri Lanka