PIX: Phillips, Boult steer New Zealand to big win over SL

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Glenn Phillips made most of some good fortune that came his way to smash a special hundred as New Zealand fought back from a poor start to beat Sri Lanka by 65 runs in the T20 World Cup Super 12 match, in Sydney, on Saturday.

The Kiwis found themselves tottering at 15 for 3 inside the powerplay before Phillips (104 off 64) shared an 84-run stand with Daryl Mitchell (22 off 24) to stabilise the innings.

The 25-year-old, who was dropped twice in his innings, played some sensational strokes en route his second T20 hundred. His knock comprised four sixes and 10 boundaries.

Sri Lanka too lost early wickets but, unlike New Zealand, could not recover from there and were all out for 102 in 19.2 overs.

Trent Boult caused the maximum damage with the new ball, ending up with career-best figures of four for 13 in four overs.

It was New Zealand's second win in three games. Their previous game against Afghanistan was a total wash-out.

The semi-final passage gets a lot tougher for Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka, who suffered their second defeat in three games.

The game was as good as over after Sri Lanka were reduced to 24 for 5 in the seventh over. 

The veteran pace of duo of Boult and Tim Southee ran through Sri Lanka's top-order, the former picking up three wickets in his opening spell.

Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santer (2/21) and Ish Sodhi (2/21) also chipped in with couple of wickets.

Barring Bhanuka Rajapaksa's breezy 34 off 22 balls, none of the Sri Lankan batters could get going against a formidable Kiwi attack.

Skipper Dasun Shanaka (35 off 32), who has bailed his team out of tough situations, could not produce another good knock when it was required.

It was New Zealand's first game since their win over Australia a week ago but it did not take long for them to operate at their optimal best.

Earlier, Phillips, who was dropped on 12 before getting another life later in the innings, played some sensational strokes and was also brilliant in finding the gaps. His innings comprised four sixes and 10 boundaries.

His flat-batted forehand shots off the spinners and pacers stood out in his memorable innings. His first six off Chamika Karunaratne, a pick up shot that went flying over long leg, gave him the confidence to go ballistic and lift the team from a precarious start.

He reached the three-figure mark with a pull off mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana and broke into celebration.

Theekshana, who impressed with the new ball, was too short in the death overs and Phillips took full advantage of that. The New Zealander smashed him for two successive sixes in the 18th over that went for 16.

The last five overs yielded 67 runs.

Sri Lanka's catching and ground fielding on the day left a lot to be desired. The only positive for Sri Lanka was their performance in the first six overs during which they removed the dangerous Finn Allen, Devon Conway and New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson.

Theekshana removed Finn with an in-swinger, pretty unusual for a spinner, that was too close to cut while Willamson was caught behind as he tried to drive wide ball off pacer Kasun Rajitha on the up.

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