Colombo (PTI): Rachin Ravindra claimed 4/27 as New Zealand crushed Sri Lanka by 61 runs in their Group 2 Super Eights clash of the T20 World Cup here on Wednesday.

With the win, New Zealand took a big step towards the semifinals. Sri Lanka were knocked out, though they still have one match to play.

Chasing 169, Sri Lanka made a terrible start to crawl to 20 for two in the powerplay and failed to gain any momentum.

Ravindra then ran through the brittle Lankan middle order to help the Kiwis limit the co-hosts for a paltry 107/8.

Earlier, skipper Mitchell Santner (47) and Cole McConchie (31 not out) led New Zealand's fightback after middle-order collapse as the Kiwis posted 168/7.

New Zealand suffered a batting collapse as they slipped from 75/2 to 84/6 during which they also lost three wickets without adding a run.

Brief Scores:

New Zealand: 168 for 7 in 20 overs (Rachin Ravindra 32, Mitchell Santner 47, Cole McConchie 31 not out; Maheesh Theekshana 3/30).

Sri Lanka: 107 for 8 in 20 overs (Kamindu Mendis 31; Matt Henry 2/3, Rachin Ravindra 4/27).

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Ghaziabad (UP) (PTI): A 55-year-old criminal wanted in the case of rape and murder of his four-year-old niece was killed in a police encounter late on Sunday night in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad district, a police official said on Monday.

In the joint operation carried out by the police and Crime Branch, the accused Jeeshan, carrying a cash reward of Rs 50,000, allegedly opened fire to evade arrest, resulting in injuries to two personnel, the police said.

According to the police, at around 12 noon on April 11, Jeeshan allegedly lured the child from outside her home on the pretext of buying her toffees. He took her to his room, where he allegedly raped her and subsequently strangled her to death. Following the crime, the accused carried the body on his shoulders and dumped it under a car on an 80-foot road in the Shalimar Garden police station area before fleeing.

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Two days ago, his presence was captured on CCTV footage at Delhi railway station when he was trying to flee out of Delhi. The police received a tip-off that the accused was scheduled to meet someone near the Banthla canal in Loni, the police said.

Following this, a team of the Teela Morh police station barricaded the area, and began checking. They spotted the suspect and signalled him to stop. Upon seeing the police, Jeeshan attempted to flee. Finding himself encircled by the police, he allegedly opened fire on the police team. The police fired in self-defence, in which the accused sustained gunshot wounds. He was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead, the police said.

ACP Shalimar Garden Atul Kumar Singh said that the accused was killed in retaliatory firing and the injured policemen -- head constables Amit and Iqbal -- are out of danger.

The body of the deceased has been sent for a post-mortem examination, Singh said, and added that the police have recovered weapons and cartridges from his possession.