New Zealand A walked into a trap they never escaped. Chasing 262, they needed to build partnerships in the powerplay and middle overs. Instead, they lost three wickets for 31 runs between overs 8 and 14. Dale Phillips came out swinging—30 off 17 balls—but when he fell, the entire batting unit folded. Rhys Mariu's 19 off 22 showed resistance, but by then the match was already gone.
The real turning point came when Wanuja Sahan took the ball in the 12th over. Five wickets for 13 runs is a demolition job. He found movement on a pitch that offered assistance and NZ A's middle order—batsmen who should have steadied the ship—had no answers. Sahan bowled tight lines, kept them guessing, and the batsmen threw caution aside instead of rotating strike. From 85/3, they crashed to 121 all out.
Sri Lanka's batting earlier had given them a fighting total. Kamil Mishara's 71 off 49 and Sahan Arachchige's 66 off 81 built a 130-run stand that took the score past 260. It wasn't explosive—both innings had a measured approach—but it proved just enough. Sonal Dinusha chipped in with two wickets to keep New Zealand A's scoring down, but Sahan's spell was the match-winner. One over. Five wickets. That's all it took to end this contest.