The spinners have completely dominated Sri Lanka as the spinners have tightened the noose on the hosts to take New Zealand ahead in the race for the ICC T20 World Cup playoffs. Amidst the fall of wickets, Glenn Phillips was seen mocking the Lankan crowd with an amusing ‘Nagin’ dance.
After messing up their qualification last time during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, New Zealand have made it to the Super-8 in this edition. Luck did not favor Mitchell Santner’s team as their opening match in the Super-8 was washed out by rain.
After sharing a point with Pakistan in the first game, New Zealand had to win the match against Sri Lanka to keep their hopes alive for the semi-finals. The Blackcaps captain led from the front as they secured an impressive win over the hosts, who are now officially out of contention.
Glenn Phillips trolls Sri Lankan crowd with ‘Nagin’ dance – video goes viral
New Zealand were struggling against the Sri Lankan spinners at one point; However, thanks to two spin-bowling all-rounders lower down the order, they were able to take the score to a respectable 168 and give Sri Lanka a healthy target on the spinning Premadasa turf.
Just as the spinners were getting the limelight at the venue, captain Mitchell Santner, who had fielded himself within the powerplay, returned with a second spell along with two all-rounders Dunit Velazquez and Kamindu Mendis at the crease.
As Santner bowled his final ball of the third over to Kamindu Mendis, the left-hander slogged it towards deep mid-wicket and was caught by Glenn Phillips, one of New Zealand’s best fielders.
After completing the catch, Glenn Phillips walked towards the silent Lankan crowd and trolled them with the serpent dance step. The same can be seen in the viral video also.
Rachin Ravindra cuts the Sri Lankan middle order
Left-arm spinner Rachin Ravindra was introduced as the fifth irregular bowling change by captain Mitchell Santner. However, Ravindra has often been used by Santner to consider the slow pitches of the subcontinent.
Till Ravindra’s arrival, New Zealand’s spinners had not taken any wicket. Ravindra bowled the first ball of his spell. Referred to as a non-regular bowler, Kusal Mendis advanced down the track, and the ball turned unexpectedly to cross his outside edge. Tim Seifert reacted immediately behind the stumps and removed his bails in one fell swoop.
In the same over and in exactly the same manner, he took the wicket of Pawan Rathnayake, the other batsman present at the crease. It almost seemed like a repeat of the previous dismissal action. Ravindra’s flow of wickets was not limited to this, he dismissed captain Dasun Shanaka in his second over and then Dusan Hemantha in the third over of his spell.
He finished with 4/27 and was their most successful spinner in the match along with Mitchell Santner (1/19) and Glenn Phillips (1/21).
Super-8 Group B qualification scenario, ft New Zealand and Pakistan
After this victory, New Zealand has strengthened its chances of reaching the next stage of the competition. They have a huge run-rate advantage over Pakistan in the first place. To enter the competition, Pakistan will have to win against Sri Lanka by a big margin.
While for New Zealand, a win against England will settle all accounts and eliminate Pakistan, even if they lose the game by a close margin, they will not face much trouble due to their huge advantage with a high net run rate.
Also read: New Zealand secures its place in the semi-finals, Pakistan out?; Qualification scenario revealed
