Colombo, February 25 New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said that a total of more than 160 was "enough" on a surface that offered more spin than expected, as his team defeated Sri Lanka by 61 runs to move closer to the T20 World Cup semifinals here on Wednesday.
New Zealand had slumped to 84/6 in 12.1 overs after losing four wickets in a dramatic middle-order collapse, but Santner (47 off 26) and Cole McConchie (31 not out off 23) turned the game around with a counter-attacking stand.
The duo plundered 70 runs in the last four overs to take New Zealand to 168/7. New Zealand then restricted Sri Lanka to 107 for 8 to eliminate the islanders from the tournament.
"It was obviously a good score given the amount of spin on the ball," Santner said at the post-match presentation.
"Of course, the batsmen need to take responsibility at the top, and you know we can't rely on one or two batsmen in a game, so all the batsmen need to take a positive approach."
"I think we lost three wickets at 84, which is never ideal, but I think the longer we could stay in, me and Cole were thinking, we'll try to get to 140, but that kind of sets it up for the last two or three overs, and I guess 160 was not bad from there."
He said the wicket spun more than expected.
"It looked like a pretty good wicket. It probably spun more than we both thought, both teams thought."
"So I think with a good spinner, you can kind of control your lengths, and then you get hit on the big side with the ball spinning in like that."
His spin partner Rachin Ravindra then grabbed a career-best 4/27 to lead the bowling charge.
"I think the stats say, we've watched a few games here, whether it's been the Super 8 or the, the before. It's kind of been the side you bowl a lot more kind of spins."
New Zealand next face already-qualified England in their final Super Eights fixture here on Friday.
"They're outstanding, obviously. We know that. Quick turnaround for us. Again, we'll see what kind of pitch we have. If we play something similar, it might be a bit of a slug-fest as well," Santner added.
For Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka, it was a bitter pill to swallow as the co-hosts bowed out at the Super Eights stage.
"It is very embarrassing to disappoint the home crowd," he said.
"We started really well, but to be honest, the Santner-McConchie partnership was really good, which took the game away from us."
Having reduced New Zealand to 84/6, Sri Lanka were eyeing a target around 130, but Shanaka admitted the late assault from the Kiwis proved to be the turning point.
"We wanted to restrict them around 130, but our best bowlers bowled really well at the given time, so we must give the credit to Mitchell Santner and Cole," he said.
On their batting collapse, Shanaka added: "We must give credit to New Zealand bowlers, which they, you know, executed really well tonight."
Sri Lanka next face Pakistan in their final fixture of the T20 World Cup.
"We need to finish it high, yeah, hopefully we'll do our best game in that game," he said of their final fixture against Pakistan in Pallekele.
