New Zealand’s World Cup hopes were left in tatters as they went down by 47 runs in their opening Pool B game against Sri Lanka at Goodyear Park here today.

The Black Caps now face a major uphill battle to qualify for the Super Sixes, especially after refusing to honour their fixture against Kenya in Nairobi and will have to win their next two big games against the West Indies and South Africa respectively to be sure of a place in the next round of the tournament.