Glenn Phillips brutally trolls Sri Lankan fans with Naagin dance during T20 World Cup clash
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New Zealand were all over the Lankan side as the spinners tightened the screws on the hosts to take a long stride forward in the race for the ICC T20 World Cup playoffs. Amid the fall of wickets, Glenn Phillips was seen making a mockery of the Lankan crowd with a hilarious 'naagin' dance.
New Zealand, after having messed up their qualifications last time during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, have made it through to the Super-8 in this edition. The Mitchell Santner side was not favoured by their fortune, as their opening match in the Super-8 was washed out by rain.
After having shared 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 skipper led from the front, and they clinched a dominating victory over the hosts, who are now officially knocked out of contention.
Glenn Phillips trolled the Sri Lankan crowd with 'naagin' dance - Video goes viral
New Zealand at one stage struggled against the Sri Lankan spinners; however, thanks to the two spin-bowling all-rounders in the lower order, they could take the score to a respectable 168 and hand Sri Lanka a healthy target on the spinning Premadasa turf.
As spinners were finding glory on this venue, captain Mitchell Santner, who brought himself on within the powerplay itself, returned with a second spell with Dunith Wellalage and Kamindu Mendis, the two all-rounders on the crease.
As Santner bowled his final ball of the 3rd over to Kamindu Mendis, the left-hander slogged it towards deep mid-wicket and was caught down the throat by one of New Zealand's best fielders, Glenn Phillips.
After completing the catch, Glenn Phillips turned towards the silenced Lankan crowd and hilariously trolled them with a naagin dance step. The same can be seen in the viral video.
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Rachin Ravindra cuts through the Sri Lankan middle order
The left-arm spinner Rachin Ravindra was introduced as the 5th irregular bowling change by captain Mitchell Santner. However, Ravindra has often been used by Santner with the idea of the slow subcontinent pitches.
Until Ravindra's arrival, New Zealand spinners had not picked any wickets. Ravindra delivered with the very first bowl of his spell. Citing a non-regular bowler, Kusal Mendis advanced down the track, and the ball spun unexpectedly to beat his outside edge. Tim Seifert was quick to react behind the stumps, taking his bails off in a whisker.
He picked the wicket of Pavan Rathnayake, the other batter on the crease, in the very same over and in a very similar fashion. It almost looked like an action replay of the previous dismissal. Ravindra's flow of wickets was not limited to that, as he dismissed skipper 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 alongside Mitchell Santner (1/19) and Glenn Phillips (1/21) in the match.
Super-8 Group B Qualification Scenario, ft New Zealand and Pakistan
After this win, New Zealand have strengthened their chances to make it through to the next stage of the competition. They have a huge run-rate advantage over Pakistan in the first place. For Pakistan to even come into contention, they would have to register a big margin win against Sri Lanka.
While for New Zealand, a win against England would settle every score and knock Pakistan out, even if they lose the game by a close margin, they might not be troubled much due to their overwhelming advantage with a high net run rate.
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New Zealand National Cricket Team Sri Lanka National Cricket Team New Zealand vs Sri Lanka Glenn Phillips ICC T20 World CupAbout the Author
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